Sonofabeech
join:2006-04-25
Joplin, MO
| Internet history from a "typical" European-American BB user
I find this thread fascinating on different levels. The differing views of the cause of low BB subscribers (in areas that offer BB) and the perceived view of BB demand in areas with no BB service. Then there are the tangents. First, my Internet history: 80's - Bulletin Boards! Slowwww modem speeds, little content, but fun. Early 90's - AOL (dialup) not really WWW, but access to Usenet, AOL community, email, instant news...later 90's - MSN (dialup, 3 year contract for instant $400 rebate on computer purchase...$21.95/mo.) OK, MSN contract was my most "Brokeback" moment in my life w/Internet. Slow, bad service, usual Microsoft product. 2002 - dialup with several providers, none really stood out, got my email, news, etc. Aggravating for doing research when working in my home office...Ahhh! - The change from WANT to NEED BB. 2003 - DSL w/SBC, 1 year contract @ $24.95/mo. Much faster speeds than dialup, timesaver doing research, time to play with the Internet...found out why publisher of Penthouse was whining about lower subscriptions/sales for his porn mag! Learned you can get a virus you don't want just by looking at porn on the Internet, didn't require a date, dinner and wine to get a virus anymore! 2004 - Fed up w/ SBC's DSL (outages they could not track down, cust. svc. in Costa Rica that no speaka da englese), back to "accelerated" dialup. Faster than before, same basic experiences/benefits. 2005 - SBC seduced me with promises and a rate just above accelerated dialup - $14.95/mo! Took the bait. Just a little better service than before...skipped any chances to get another virus (I'll stick - no pun intended - to the old-fashioned way of rolling the dice ). Still the Costa Rica thing, and still no speaka. 2006 - contract over with SBC's DSL. Took the leap to Cableone's cable BB. $29.95 for first 6 mos., then $39.95/mo. with a bump in speed. Why pay twice as much for cable BB than DSL? So I could drop SBC altogether and go with VoIP! Overall, saving money in total cost over the SBC/DSL combined costs. Am I a "typical" consumer? Yes and no. Dual citizenship, born, lived in Germany, educated in America and Europe. What are the differences between American consumers and European consumers? In a nutshell (at the risk of getting blasted by sociologists in this thread), No. 1) Socialist forms of government additions in Europe make it seem like an entitlement to have Internet at all, and even BB. No.2) Family/social structure in many European countries are "more" deeply rooted overall than in America. Not unusual in Europe to find adult children (20's-30's) still living at home with parents, or nearby. Structure of the EU supports trade, commerce, travel, technology, etc., hence, BB is also encouraged/expected and may be provided much as a utility (sort of like some U.S. cities now offer city-wide wireless BB). In the U.S., my family and social structure is wider, broader, somewhat insular. Public transportation in U.S. vs. EU...most folks in U.S. prefer to drive their own car to work, for errands, etc. Promotes need for cell phones (who is counting/including the Internet/BB users via their cell phone?) by almost everyone, even young kids in middle-class homes. In U.S., we are much more open/accepting to newer things be it tech related or the latest burger combination at Wendy's. We do not have the structure of the EU, nor the commercial constraints. What is keeping anyone in a non-serviced BB area from getting a government grant or at worst, a low-interest loan with a friend or neighbor and creating a wireless BB or satellite BB solution? Even getting gov't permission to require XYZ company across the tracks to allow users to form a co-op or non-profit (which is required by most gov't grants it seems) and tap into their service? I know this has been long, but after reading all the posts in this thread from well-educated/experienced BB users/providers/subs, etc., I thought I would post my input from a non-BB industry related person except purely as a consumer/user. Do I need the Internet? Yes, not just for research (which I do little of anymore at home) or email and news, but there is real value in entertainment (outside P2P and viral videos) with my BB connection. Firefox's browser has a neat lttle extension called "StumbleUpon." It does just what it says, you click on your interests, and then click the StumbleUpon button on the menu bar, and you can be taken to some really great/interesting/just "OK"/bad/and "waste of space" websites. Keep the sites you like. Get on IRC or even a Yahoo! chatroom with people all over the world. Try Google Earth and you can "visit" about anyplace on Earth you want. For old-times sake, pick a familiar place on the globe and you can zoom in at an angle and speed that will remind one of a target run in one's F/A-18 Hornet they used to drive. I agree that the Internet and BB will progress with society, as kids with computers and BB from grade-school on up experience the Internet in BB, BB will become as normal as a T.V. in the home. As consumers become driven to the Internet by advertising (what business/service advertising in T.V., and print media does not have a webpage/site? Few.), the want will become a need. Before I spend my valuable time shopping for most purchases outside a bag of chips, I go to the Internet first. I can sometimes get web-only offers, can research pros/cons of brands, or whatever I want. I can buy it on the Internet often cheaper than at the mall or big-box store, or find out in advance about a "coming soon" offer in a store or location. I can rent DVDs with no late fees, in short, the cost of my BB connection has done more for me by providing cheaper yet quality local/LD/Int'l phone service and free samples from major companies, offers, entertainment, and in some cases, a place to vent. Prices won't just come down unless BB providers want to gain market share to show a better balance sheet for the time when they are bought-out by another company (even outside the BB industry) or they actually do want to gain a larger subscriber base and find profits in volume. In the meantime, many forces will drive consuners to BB in it's various forms, just as it did me. It is now more of a perk than a need, and far beyond a want. Adam Smith got it right. The "invisible hand" will drive the economy of BB beyond what I may have identifed either strongly or by a slender thread. |
