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Chris Kubiet/Chronicle
“Keeping personal information private is a fundamental right,” said Steve Case, founder and CEO of America Online.
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Online privacy and equal Internet access priorities for AOL chief |
by Brian Campbell
Assistant Editor |
Despite the fact that it has changed the way we live, the Internet is still in its infancy, according to Steve Case, the founder and CEO of America Online. Case spoke at the Chicago Communications 25th anniversary luncheon, benefitting Columbia’s Al Weisman Scholarship Fund, at the Hilton on Wednesday, Nov. 10.
America Online was founded in 1989, the year when the Berlin Wall fell, which heralded social and economic changes in Europe and symbolized the end of the Cold War. Case credited AOL with the potential to affect the world as much as that momentous occasion did.
“Ten years ago, ‘E’ was just the fifth letter in the alphabet,” Case said. And while mainly men used the Internet in the beginning, now half of the users are female.
“ There are more e-mail messages sent every day than the U.S. Postal Service handles mail.” Apparently, a baby is born every eight seconds somewhere in the world, while a new member of AOL is signed up every three and a half seconds.
Speaking about the Internet today, he said it had become a global medium, erasing boundaries, and he wanted an Internet that “leaves none of our children behind.”
Case believes that the early 19th century is remembered for Thomas Jefferson’s quest to explore western America, the early 20th century for Theodore Roosevelt establishing the United States as the world’s leading industrialized nation, and the start of the next century will “launch the Internet age.”
Case commented on the continuing popularity of AOL and the Internet: “Soon we won’t have to say e-mail, just mail, not e-commerce, just commerce. We must shape this medium while it is young. It could easily go the wrong way,” he said. “The path is never predictable. The choices we make will determine its success.”
In his speech, Case brought up several issues. Online privacy is a priority. Personal information used to be recorded on paper, which was not easy to access and was protected from prying eyes.
“Keeping personal information private is a fundamental right,” Case said. “The bottom line is people fear they’ll be totally exposed. [“They fear] a George Orwellian version of “Cheers,” where everyone knows your name, even if they shouldn’t.” He assured users that AOL has a strict privacy policy, and as the medium evolves “it is our job to be creative to think up policies which are both responsive and responsible.”
Another priority for Case and AOL is addressing the “digital divide.” The gap between those who have Internet access and those who do not is widening, he said. Only 10 percent of low-income families have access, compared to 75 percent of middle-class families.
“Sixty percent of jobs in the next century will require high tech skills,” Case said. “As Bruce Springsteen says, ‘nobody wins unless everyone wins.’”
Case also addressed the growing technological advances of the Internet. Consumers will soon have the choice of receiving Internet services via cable, satellite and high-speed phone lines, which could threaten the existence of AOL. Case said that he favored competition, and admitted that AOL is working with Bell Atlantic and would like to work with AT&T in some way.
In his speech, Case also talked about the Microsoft monopoly debate, saying that “nothing in the [case] findings surprised us.”
Case was introduced by Joe Cappo, vice president-international for Crain Communications, Inc. Cappo said the World Wide Web is causing an impact similar to that of TV in the 50s and 60s. Then, other media were opposed to the new medium, but today “the media is all over the Internet.”
In a humorous comment on the proliferation of AOL disks, Cappo said some Web sites have the sole purpose of suggesting uses for old AOL disks; for example: cutting boards for slicing pickles, ice scrapers, air-hockey pucks, snack trays for squirrels, or inserts for Wonderbras.
“We always appreciate suggested uses for our disks,” Case responded. “One suggestion is to give it to a friend.”
Case said the strong turnout for the luncheon was remarkable, 25 years after Chicago Communications was formed as a memorial to Al Weisman. Over the years, more than 500 Chicago college students- many from Columbia- have received grants totaling more than $700,000 for communications and arts projects. |
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