How much did you know about AOL? What programs or services do you think could have been inspired by chat rooms? What are your thoughts on the usage of the chat rooms?
Erin Brady - I knew that AOL existed but I didn't actually know anything about it. I think text messaging and comment strings like the one we are using now could have been inspired by chat rooms. I think that chat rooms were very useful for the time.
I didn't know tons about AOL, as I've never used it. I knew its main functionality in the usage of chat boards and similar services, but the interface is unknown to me. I think it has inspired many types of communication programs with chat boards, including Discord, Facebook, and Twitter. I think that chat rooms expressed an idealistic view of the Internet, where people could talk to each other freely over an Internet connection. - Elliot
Erin Brady - I agree that chat rooms have definitely inspired different forms of social media. They were definitely created as an idealistic idea of what people dreamed the Internet could be.
Watching my parents use AOL as a kid, I always thought it as fascinating because there was so much to look at, and so many things moving around. Now I think it was probably just busy.
Erin Burke Honesty, all I knew of AOL was that it was an ancient form of email, or that's what I thought of it as. I think modern chat forums like Reddit and Discord were definitely inspired by older chat rooms. I can remember the Webkinz chat rooms being super cool when I was young. I think that the whole idea of a private chat room was definitely not born to be what it became, but business is business and money making came from the private chat rooms and I think the embracing of private chat rooms by AOL is what made them successful.
Lynne: I agree, I think private websites like Webkinz and Reddit were definitely inspired by chat rooms so people using these platforms had a method to communicate with each other.
I agree that I thought of AOL as ancient. I never really paid much attention to it. Forums were a definite idea that came from chat rooms, I didn't even think about how there are current chat rooms like Discord that people still use.
That's a really great point. I do remember chatting on Webkinz and found it very fun. I forgot about Reddit and think that's a great example of a chat room. It's also a great point that they made a lot of money from private chat rooms.
Lynne: I knew basically nothing about AOL since I've never used it. I think the concept of chat rooms was super useful at the time and I think everyone loved it, although some people took it a little too far. I think it was cool that people with shared interests could join a chat room and all talk to each other. I think that threads on social media like commenting on Instagram and earlier social media like Tumblr were inspired by chat rooms.
Erin Burke: Do you think that the direction that chat rooms went in was beneficial to the companies or damaged them, not monetarily (because they clearly benefitted) but in their public image?
Riley: I didn't even think about how social media threads could have come from chat rooms. It definitely seems true, like how you can search for hashtags and find posts with similar interests and comment, or search for a tag on Pinterest and talk about different things like a chat room.
I knew close to nothing about AOL. I have heard of it, but never really knew what it did or where it came from. iMessage group chats and commenting on twitter or Instagram posts were probably inspired by chat rooms, which were definitely useful when they were created. People were probably amazed at how easy it was for multiple people to talk to each other now.
Riley: I didn't know much about AOL besides the fact that my mom has used the same AOL email for as long as I could remember. I was very fascinated by the idea of chat rooms because I think it started the ideas for DMs or text messages. I think it is kind of cool that they had private chats that weren't monitored because AOL seems like the first company that was more laid back and wanted users to enjoy the internet for their own purposes, not strictly work or education.
Elliot: I agree that chat rooms were very unique because of private chat rooms, leaving people free to talk about whatever they want. This freedom likely brought so many people to think of the Internet as the future of the world.
Aakash: At first all I knew about aol was that it was a message system that died way before I could even think about using the internet. Some programs that I think that could have been facebook, instagram, twitter and pretty much every other form of social media. These platforms basically took the functionality and core concepts of chatrooms and brought them up to another level. I think that the usage of chatrooms may have launched the internet into what is today on a more personal level allowing personal interactions to take place anywhere over the internet.
I agree that AOL was the inspiration and basis for future platforms. Chat rooms added a personal connection that inclined people to really be on their service everyday. People felt like they had a sense of privacy.
Olivia: I knew it was an email server and a search engine that you can use. I think that social media was somewhat influenced because there is specified accounts to talk to. Additionally, Buzzfeed has a comment section under specified articles, but I’m sure if I know of any chat room sites. I think that chat rooms are an interesting idea because it is cool to talk to people about things you are interested in, but they seem to be a bit sketchy.
They did seem sketchy. I think that element was particularly surprising because we grew up being constantly warned about the internet, and how there could be dangerous people looking to exploit others. I think some of those fears could have been founded during the chat room era.
Hannah - I knew the sound of AOL starting and connecting and I've seen customized profile pages just by being online but I've never actually personally been on the platform. I think that all the major chat rooms like google hangout and the interactive aspect of it probably inspired discord and snapchat. I like the idea of chat rooms and I'm not surprised what they ended up being used for but personally I would have liked to see more chat rooms just of people talking and getting to know one each other around the world.
I can definitely see chat rooms being seen as sketchy because of what happened to them. I also would use it to get to know people around the world! That's why I have pen pals and why I use pen pal websites!
My parents both use AOL, so I have a few memories of watching my mom go to AOL and seeing all the different links, headlines, a bright colors spread out on the page. Knowing that AOL was one of the earlier services to provide a form of communicating via chat rooms online, I think many forms of communication we use today could have been inspired by the chat rooms. I was shocked that the chat rooms were so commonly used for sexual conversations. I really did not expect that.
I remember the AOL startup sound because my computer teacher in the fourth grade played it for us and ask if anyone knew what it was. Chat rooms most likely inspired Discord, Reddit, and things like Chatroulette. At the time, I had no idea. I also found it interesting but not surprising that many of the chat rooms were used mainly for sexual content.
Oh it definitely did! It was more difficult to verify that people were who they said they were, maybe even leading to more child predators, preying on young kids who really didn't know any better because they most likely didn't receive the talk about stranger danger online.
I remember it being more common when I was younger, with more people having email addresses at AOL. Other than that, I did not really know what AOL was or what it provided. I think it inspired chat rooms such as Reddit. I think that services used chat rooms as engagement for users. People were fascinated by the idea of virtual communication and I think private messaging was a major change for people that, while probably not the intention, proved to be successful in terms of business.
I think that it made AOL seem like it was not a service they were using, because the actual interaction was done between two users. Private chatrooms created a sense of connection and intrigued users as they felt privacy and safety within their own chat.
I think it was attractive because not only could you talk to people you'd never heard of or met before, but you didn't have to be yourself in the chat rooms
i knew that they had emails and chat rooms but i had never used it myself. there are lots of things that chat rooms inspired, omeegle, google hangouts, reddit and services like that. i thought that it was very interesting that the book acknowledged the more questionable side of chat rooms, but it was definitely very important part of its development.
honestly, no. like they said in the book, sex sells, and i think that it was one of the driving forces for AOLs success, even if they didnt acknowledge it
Erin Brady - I knew that AOL existed but I didn't actually know anything about it. I think text messaging and comment strings like the one we are using now could have been inspired by chat rooms. I think that chat rooms were very useful for the time.
ReplyDeleteWhat we are using now is EXACTLY like Chat Rooms (trust me, I loved chat rooms back in the day).
DeleteI didn't know tons about AOL, as I've never used it. I knew its main functionality in the usage of chat boards and similar services, but the interface is unknown to me. I think it has inspired many types of communication programs with chat boards, including Discord, Facebook, and Twitter. I think that chat rooms expressed an idealistic view of the Internet, where people could talk to each other freely over an Internet connection. - Elliot
ReplyDeleteErin Brady - I agree that chat rooms have definitely inspired different forms of social media. They were definitely created as an idealistic idea of what people dreamed the Internet could be.
DeleteWatching my parents use AOL as a kid, I always thought it as fascinating because there was so much to look at, and so many things moving around. Now I think it was probably just busy.
DeleteErin Burke
ReplyDeleteHonesty, all I knew of AOL was that it was an ancient form of email, or that's what I thought of it as.
I think modern chat forums like Reddit and Discord were definitely inspired by older chat rooms.
I can remember the Webkinz chat rooms being super cool when I was young. I think that the whole idea of a private chat room was definitely not born to be what it became, but business is business and money making came from the private chat rooms and I think the embracing of private chat rooms by AOL is what made them successful.
Reddit is DEFINITELY like the old chat rooms... and I remember Webkinz!
DeleteLynne: I agree, I think private websites like Webkinz and Reddit were definitely inspired by chat rooms so people using these platforms had a method to communicate with each other.
DeleteI agree that I thought of AOL as ancient. I never really paid much attention to it. Forums were a definite idea that came from chat rooms, I didn't even think about how there are current chat rooms like Discord that people still use.
DeletePeople like to chat and people like the anonymity of chat boards even today's versions.
DeleteThat's a really great point. I do remember chatting on Webkinz and found it very fun. I forgot about Reddit and think that's a great example of a chat room. It's also a great point that they made a lot of money from private chat rooms.
DeleteLynne: I knew basically nothing about AOL since I've never used it. I think the concept of chat rooms was super useful at the time and I think everyone loved it, although some people took it a little too far. I think it was cool that people with shared interests could join a chat room and all talk to each other. I think that threads on social media like commenting on Instagram and earlier social media like Tumblr were inspired by chat rooms.
ReplyDeleteErin Burke: Do you think that the direction that chat rooms went in was beneficial to the companies or damaged them, not monetarily (because they clearly benefitted) but in their public image?
DeleteRiley: I didn't even think about how social media threads could have come from chat rooms. It definitely seems true, like how you can search for hashtags and find posts with similar interests and comment, or search for a tag on Pinterest and talk about different things like a chat room.
DeleteI knew close to nothing about AOL. I have heard of it, but never really knew what it did or where it came from. iMessage group chats and commenting on twitter or Instagram posts were probably inspired by chat rooms, which were definitely useful when they were created. People were probably amazed at how easy it was for multiple people to talk to each other now.
ReplyDeleteRiley: I didn't know much about AOL besides the fact that my mom has used the same AOL email for as long as I could remember. I was very fascinated by the idea of chat rooms because I think it started the ideas for DMs or text messages. I think it is kind of cool that they had private chats that weren't monitored because AOL seems like the first company that was more laid back and wanted users to enjoy the internet for their own purposes, not strictly work or education.
ReplyDeleteElliot: I agree that chat rooms were very unique because of private chat rooms, leaving people free to talk about whatever they want. This freedom likely brought so many people to think of the Internet as the future of the world.
DeleteI completely agree that aol helped revolutionize the world and really helped push forward a new era technology. -Aakash
DeleteAakash: At first all I knew about aol was that it was a message system that died way before I could even think about using the internet. Some programs that I think that could have been facebook, instagram, twitter and pretty much every other form of social media. These platforms basically took the functionality and core concepts of chatrooms and brought them up to another level. I think that the usage of chatrooms may have launched the internet into what is today on a more personal level allowing personal interactions to take place anywhere over the internet.
ReplyDeleteI agree that AOL was the inspiration and basis for future platforms. Chat rooms added a personal connection that inclined people to really be on their service everyday. People felt like they had a sense of privacy.
DeleteOlivia:
ReplyDeleteI knew it was an email server and a search engine that you can use. I think that social media was somewhat influenced because there is specified accounts to talk to. Additionally, Buzzfeed has a comment section under specified articles, but I’m sure if I know of any chat room sites. I think that chat rooms are an interesting idea because it is cool to talk to people about things you are interested in, but they seem to be a bit sketchy.
Sketchy is an understatement... remember the comment about who you are on the internet and who you are in real life?
DeleteThey did seem sketchy. I think that element was particularly surprising because we grew up being constantly warned about the internet, and how there could be dangerous people looking to exploit others. I think some of those fears could have been founded during the chat room era.
DeleteThat's a good point. I remember reading that the private chat rooms were a big place for catfishing!
DeleteHannah - I knew the sound of AOL starting and connecting and I've seen customized profile pages just by being online but I've never actually personally been on the platform. I think that all the major chat rooms like google hangout and the interactive aspect of it probably inspired discord and snapchat. I like the idea of chat rooms and I'm not surprised what they ended up being used for but personally I would have liked to see more chat rooms just of people talking and getting to know one each other around the world.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see chat rooms being seen as sketchy because of what happened to them. I also would use it to get to know people around the world! That's why I have pen pals and why I use pen pal websites!
DeleteDo you think these pen pal websites are a lot like AOL chatrooms and do they have regulations to make them more safe?
DeleteMy parents both use AOL, so I have a few memories of watching my mom go to AOL and seeing all the different links, headlines, a bright colors spread out on the page. Knowing that AOL was one of the earlier services to provide a form of communicating via chat rooms online, I think many forms of communication we use today could have been inspired by the chat rooms. I was shocked that the chat rooms were so commonly used for sexual conversations. I really did not expect that.
ReplyDeleteI don't think AOL did either.
DeleteI remember the AOL startup sound because my computer teacher in the fourth grade played it for us and ask if anyone knew what it was. Chat rooms most likely inspired Discord, Reddit, and things like Chatroulette. At the time, I had no idea. I also found it interesting but not surprising that many of the chat rooms were used mainly for sexual content.
ReplyDeleteErin Burke: do you think that they became places for sexual predators to act because of the anonymity of the internet?
DeleteYES! That was a big issue back then. AOL tried to police the chat rooms but it was really impossible. They had moderators but it was tough 24/7.
DeleteOh it definitely did! It was more difficult to verify that people were who they said they were, maybe even leading to more child predators, preying on young kids who really didn't know any better because they most likely didn't receive the talk about stranger danger online.
DeleteI remember it being more common when I was younger, with more people having email addresses at AOL. Other than that, I did not really know what AOL was or what it provided. I think it inspired chat rooms such as Reddit. I think that services used chat rooms as engagement for users. People were fascinated by the idea of virtual communication and I think private messaging was a major change for people that, while probably not the intention, proved to be successful in terms of business.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the idea of private chatrooms do you think was so attractive to people back then?
DeleteI think that it made AOL seem like it was not a service they were using, because the actual interaction was done between two users. Private chatrooms created a sense of connection and intrigued users as they felt privacy and safety within their own chat.
DeleteI think it was attractive because not only could you talk to people you'd never heard of or met before, but you didn't have to be yourself in the chat rooms
DeleteI'll post the next question - you can move on whenever your ready.
ReplyDeletei knew that they had emails and chat rooms but i had never used it myself. there are lots of things that chat rooms inspired, omeegle, google hangouts, reddit and services like that. i thought that it was very interesting that the book acknowledged the more questionable side of chat rooms, but it was definitely very important part of its development.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that without the sketchy part of the chat rooms that AOL could prosper?
Deletehonestly, no. like they said in the book, sex sells, and i think that it was one of the driving forces for AOLs success, even if they didnt acknowledge it
Delete