The AOL Exodus Effect

Washington Post:

Barry Schuler moved to Washington from Silicon Valley to join AOL during its golden days, one of the many top technology professionals the Internet giant recruited to the region. But when the former chief executive left in 2003, he returned to California to become an investor and start a technology company, following other executives who have drifted away from the region.

"We gravitated back to our roots," Schuler said. "This area, the Bay Area, continues to be the epicenter of emerging technology."

Departures like Schuler's are one reason Washington's technology industry is still struggling to mature a decade after Dulles-based AOL became a magnet for talent.

Without schools such as Stanford or MIT, Washington counted on AOL to build up the local consumer tech industry, just as Microsoft did in the Seattle area. And for a time it did just that, becoming the country's best-known online company and recasting the region's image as more than a sleepy town of opaque government contractors.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[askmeificare]

I used Pipeline USA back in the day. Before that, the local bulletin boards.

One thing AOL deserves credit for is it brought the masses to the internet, not the internet to the masses. Once the users realized they were being duped by AOL, they started jumping ship.

AOL served it's purpose. Now it's time to go.

[Cybesq]

I paid for an AOL account for 10 years and then when I got into a political debate with someone who had a klan picture in their profile, I called that person a "rapture right retard". The klansman complained. AOL referred me to someone in India who refused to give me my account back. I lost 10 years worth of contacts and information.

I hope everyone at AOL loses their job, bad management, outsourced customer service, greedy, nanny big brother oversight, and crappy product. AOL = PRODIGY. BUH BYE.

[wadenelson1]

An article discussing "technology professionals" at AOL is a complete joke. It was, and is about marketing stupid software to stupid people. No tech required.

AOL has sucked from Day 1. They provided Internet access for people too dumb to figure out how to sign up with an ISP.

You'll never go broke underestimating the stupidity of the American public. And for a while there they didn't.

[Dendroica]

Just for the record, "from day 1" you didn't have ISP's. Ten or twelve years ago, it was for the most part either AOL or Net Zero or other dial-up providers that really were primitive. Back then, they were the best game in town.

Now they are almost worthless.

[MadMoll]

15 years ago, I was with a local ISP called Mindvox. all hyperterminal and command line. from there, RCN and finally earthlink. if the guys @ mindvox ever come down, and start it up again, I'll go back. till then, I"m where I am