Last spring in this column I shared some notions about the relationship between Internet/Online service providers and the community:

"Beneath this cultural adjustment is several other "Cs". Community. The sense of community must be an integral part of the shift with "very strong community-building techniques" at the cornerstone of it all. This has been lacking in the major on-line access providers who have consistently marketed with nary a notion of what this community is about nor where it wants to go. America On-line doesn’t have a clue that I have enough free sampler disks to retile my foyer and still have enough disks left over to replace the heat tiles on the space shuttle. And while the strategic posturing by the major telecommunications stakeholders continues in the wake of dramatic telecommunications reform, their sense of community becomes every more diffused. Fortunately, the local Internet service providers have a sense of who we are."

Anybody who has an American Online account and tried to sign on to the service since AOL changed to a flat-rate plan can attest to the frustration and anger at constant busy signals and numerous systems hang-ups. Clearly there is considerable competition underway in the telecommunications industry to establish or hold on to market share......often at the expense of customer service. AOL’s last-gasp attempt to "run with the big dogs" was poorly conceived and left multitudes at the altar. There simply is not the equipment in place to handle the unexpected demand by the new pricing plan.

Furthermore, attempting to contact AOL via phone is an experience in their "voice jail" system of multiple layers of menus designed to simply stall you in to giving up. There is little that can be construed as customer service. Simply said, AOL has not established the key sense of community that is necessary to stay competitive in the marketplace.

It is quite clear that many are abandoning AOL and moving to the major and local Internet service providers. The distinction between full Internet access browsers and AOL’s carefully structured access menus is becoming less and less. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape’s Navigator have evolved to a more user-friendly interface for the Internet. I used to recommend AOL for first-time users due to its clean design and menu strucutre but the since the distinction between them is becoming is less so, I have to give the nod to Navigator & Explorer through local providers.

The local Internet service providers in the area have vested interest in your business and are part of the business community. They are stakeholders in the growth and business stature of this community. The competition is keen amongst them and when customers get fed up, they migrate (referred to as "churn") to another provider. Churn is costly to providers so they seek to make sure that your connections are there for you.

Your chamber business partners ready to get you connected with a personal touch:

Cybertron

ETS/ARCnet

Gulf Coast Internet Company

Gulfnet Technologies

Nucleus Communications

Webmasters

This article was published in the February 1997 issue of Coastlines, a publication for the Fort Walton Beach (FL) Chamber of Commerce courtesy of the Daily News.

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