After many scathing remarks about AOL's poor design from
computer professionals of my acquaintance, and after reading
that using AOL branded you a newbie, I virtually never gave
out my AOL address without embarrassment even to friends
and family, and tried never to give it out professionally.
When it became obvious over the last year or so that I was
going to be using e-mail for work more and more, I decided
to go with a local ISP. The trouble is, I miss AOL. I miss
the Buddy Lists. I miss the keywords. What should I do?
–Elsie
Dear Elsie,
You can have your cake and eat it too. Unless the monthly fee is going to break your budget, my advice is to keep the AOL account.
There is absolutely nothing shameful about being a fan of AOL. If you like AOL, say so. Recommend it to your friends, and give out your AOL address with pride. That's what I do: Like you, I'm not prepared to give up my AOL Buddy List. The practice of instant messages, a.k.a. "IM-ing," ranks up there with the best inventions of the century.
We might as well admit there is a downside to AOL. You've
pointed out the social stigma: computer snobs snub AOL
as a newbie pacifier, a training-wheel solution to the
Internet. Nonsense. The second downside is logistical:
connections can be slow, especially from home, especially
during "rush hour"–after school and during
the evening. If you don't pay attention, you'll
be cut off after an unspecified amount of time. This can
be annoying. The third problem is that the AOL browser–the
thing that actually propels your travels around the Web–isn't
as good as Netscape or Internet Explorer. So don't
use it; use Netscape or IE instead.
The pros far outweigh the cons: there are lots of reasons
to stay on AOL. I've already mentioned the buddy
lists and the IMs. The keywords are a clever navigational
tool; there's a dazzling array of fonts and colors
to use for correspondence. The chats and message boards
are superbly managed and organized. And AOL offers a bouquet
of providers for each Channel subject: for instance, the
women's area has content from Oxygen, Women.com,
and iVillage, as well as original AOL content.
Plus, every time I open the newspaper, it seems there's a story about AOL's plans to expand its services and improve its offerings. I don't want to miss any of that.
Finally, I've found it's not a hassle to have
two e-mail accounts: it's handy. I use my AOL address
for everything impersonal, e.g., newsletters, customer-service
stuff, shopping receipts. I give my other e-mail address
only to colleagues, family, and friends. But if the idea
of having to check on two e-mailboxes freaks you out,
simply decide not to use one or the other.
