Why Do You Push AOL? Ratings on other ISP's?

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Hi Gang,

Good Morning All!

"Dear Danny: Why Do You Push AOL? Is it a bad sign if you hate AOL more than Iran? Or Cuba?"

"Any ratings anywhere on other ISP's?"

"Also, I'm Just Curious: What News do you use?"

My Reply

"First of all: I Don't Push AOL!

I don't care what ISP you're on. I don't care if you have a direct Internet connection. I have both... There are reasons...

I'm not shy about AOL good or bad. I'm really glad I've been able to write good articles about them lately. That hasn't been the case since AOL 5!

Anyway:

The ratings are about the same for all of them. Bad and worse. Their size determines where at the bottom they are. Really... Example: The lowest rated ISP is AOL. It also has by far, the most members, so this rating isn't even close to making sense. The next lowest is MSN and it has the second largest membership. The third lowest is EarthLink and it has the third highest membership.

I would imagine this only stands to reason as the one with the most complaints would also have the largest membership and so on down the line.

It's also important to note that people only complain.

They never write to say good job, so the numbers are skewed anyway. I can attest to this fact. People rarely write me except to complain. Positive email is less then 1% of all email received and always has been. Though this is true; undoubtedly, my satisfaction levels are very high as the hit counts attest to. So, the ratings game is a tricky business and not necessarily accurate.

Especially ISP ratings. They don't really mean anything because you're talking dial up, after all. Broadband is a whole different world. And, everyone hates AOL. They own the Internet by a LONG shot. Simple jealousy is the reason. Steve Case made it look way too easy compared to how everyone else was struggling and continue to...

The simple truth is, all ISP's suffer from the same net problems as each other and that's why you don't see major shifts in memberships. In the early days of AOL/MSN I saw some shifts, but not anymore. People pretty much stay where they are. It stands to reason; they get used to what they have.

AOL, the worst rated ISP, has by far the highest loyalty ratings from it's customers. That's another thing "the professionals" hate about AOL. No one knows why...

That simple fact should tell you something real about AOL. They are very popular. It could be the security of their email system. Virus's don't affect the AOL email system and it's about the only one they don't. AOL is a closed system, you have to hack the main server; not some toy in someone's basement. You never hear of virus email attacks at AOL and you probably never will. They're like the Defense Department, no lie...

That alone is enough to sell me. The security of my address books is far too important to risk them anywhere else. Especially Outlook! Outlook has every virus in the world pointed at it. If I caught the Klez virus and my computer automatically sent virus laden emails to all of my subscribers, I'd be finished. Very Quickly! And I should be...

The dirty truth is, Net congestion is by far the biggest problem on the Internet. No matter the ISP, you are slaved by the Internet structure itself. At almost exactly 3 pm on school days, the net can come to a crawl. That's when the kids get out of school on the East coast. It stays this way until around 7 pm eastern; as each hour goes by, the next time zone releases it's students. Even with my 3000k broadband connection it's VERY noticeable. This can cause havoc on dial up connections such as being bumped off, and, browsers timing out web pages instead of loading them.

Broadband connections don't have these problems but you notice the speed of the net slow down. I generally don't surf the web during these times. I'm used to "click you're there." I won't wait for count three. Really...

Speaking of broadband; there will be a time when it's the standard and dial up will go away. Almost 30% of Internet users now have broadband in the US and it's growing. When this shift occurs, you'll see far less complaints. Believe me. Phone modems suck, they've always sucked, and always will. Basically, you're trying to have a "real time" online experience with the technology of a fax machine. Sheesh

My daily news? Why do you want to know that? OK, I'll tell you. For my daily news, I use AOL broadband, (ABC/CBS/CNN; I do use the video section) the Drudge report and Fox News online. The Drudge report is really the only resource needed if you're a serious newsaholic. Drudge goes all the way around the world. (http://www.drudgereport.com/)

Thanks for your Letter

Dan Daily"