18
OMG, you're still using AOL for e-mail?
AOL sign
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: AOL officially splits from Time Warner today. The online company's trying to reinvent itself, offering new services -- even a new logo. For a lot of people, AOL was an introduction to e-mail. But a lot's changed. And they're hoping a new image helps them to move the product forward. Marketplace's Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
Stacey Vanek-Smith: A few months ago, I started getting e-mails from friends and colleagues, saying they were switching their e-mail from Yahoo or Hotmail to G-mail -- that's Google.
I have a Yahoo address. Do they know something I don't? Is my e-mail address sending its own message about me? Duke University marketing professor Ken Wilbur says yes.
Ken Wilbur: It's like your haircut or the designer of the shirt that you're wearing -- it's something that people notice and it's part of the package.
I needed to know more, so I turned to Dalaise Michaelis. He's Marketplace's Web developer and he thinks about these kinds of things.
Dalaise Michaelis: As soon as somebody says they are, you know, so-and-so at Earthlink.net or Hotmail.com, really it's an "Oh My God" moment. Do you know what the Internet is? Yahoo is like, OK. And then if you're G-mail, you're like, I can take you seriously.
Vanek-Smith: What about AOL?
Michaelis: You said AOL? Oh wow, is it still around? I mean, Ican't believe it's still around.
Burt Flickinger: Had my AOL e-mail account for a little over 15 years.
Burt Flickinger is the managing director of the Strategic Resource Group. He tells retailers how to market things to young shoppers. What do clients say when he gives them his e-mail?
Burt Flickinger: When I give them an AOL email address, they say, I can't believe you're still on AOL. I say well, it's simple, I have one of the original addresses with no numbers so it's easier for you to type.
There are 50 million Flickingers out there. Hotmail has 200 million users. Yahoo 260 million. G-mail is gaining on them, but 500 million people can't be uncool!
Still, it's not about numbers says Duke's Ken Wilbur. He says an e4mail address is part of your brand. And if you're looking for a job or networking, the wrong address can make you look out of touch.
Wilbur: I really like to think of it as sort of the card stock you print your business cards on. You know, if you are out there looking for a job, it certainly is something you might want to think about in terms of what kind of image you're projecting.
So if you think your e-mail address needs to send a new message.. might be time to tell the old one:
AOL: Goodbye.
In Los Angeles, at Gmail.com, I'm Stacey Vanek Smith for Marketplace.
Pages
- ‹ previous
- 1
- 2
Gen Y here. Gmail's general aesthetics, easy search and chat functions are what drive me to use it. From my perspective, the technology wants to advance with the times; it's progressive. Just like I like to think of myself and my colleagues.
But I have several e-mail accounts, and my professional one with firstname_lastname is still at yahoo. If I used it more often, though, I'd probably switch to gmail. Not for appearances, but for usability preferences.
I don't understand the argument that e-mails that have been around longer have higher value. E-mail accounts are a lot like phone numbers unless you're putting something cute in the name.
A young person sporting a gmail address is like a young person wearing skinny jeans and a hoodie - expected and nothing to be impressed by.
An older person rolling a gmail address is like a middle-aged guy wearing skinny jeans and a hoodie -- What, are you new to email? Just discovered the Interwebs? You probably drive a Scion too, to be kewl.
If you rock the FirstnameLastname@aol/hotmail/yahoo/earthlink addy, with no numbers and no misspellings, THAT'S like driving a '66 Mustang in pristine condition.
Having a gmail address indicate you're young, flighty and just getting your feet wet on the internet. Talk to me when you have 10-15 years of internet experience and email ownership, then we can discuss sustainability, resilience and stability - necessary ingredients for winning. I've been a Yahooligan for more than 12 years and still loving it!
OMG, are we, like, still in high school? Did Google pay for this commercial?
This is in the running for the silliest story I've ever heard on public radio. Perhaps candidates for employment should be concerned at whether their potential employer is a faddish techno-snob or someone with a little more stability? And by the way, the email address attached to this comment is hosted by Yahoo, but I have my own domain, so I'm much cooler than Gmail... lol. Lord have mercy.
While your story about what your email provider says to others was good, I had thought it was going to be on AOL's sustainability or specifically their downfall. AOL (and Compuserve and Prodigy) was made far less necessary after Windows 95 standardized dial-up networking (making connecting to the Internet generally quite simple). It hung on to its model of trying to frame the Internet as an exclusive AOL experience. With advertising, it looked like a cable TV model (now that's forward thinking!). Trying to control and format the Internet is what truly makes AOL antiquated. Well, that and charging for access over and above your own ISP's fees! Go [your-favorite-free-email-provider-here]!
Email providers says much more...
An AOL account without numbers says you don't need to change things that aren't broken AND you're an early adopter.
A gmail account says "I'm hot and new AND you don't want me managing anything to do with privacy."
Yahoo just says I still have that jingle stuck in my head and i'm find with that.
Pages
- ‹ previous
- 1
- 2
