As the 1990s dawned, so, too, did the Internet era. The totems of the new age were the dial-up signal and the ubiquitous AOL CD. In February 1991, AOL for DOS was launched using a GeoWorks interface, followed a year later by AOL for Windows. Toward the end of the decade, its subscriber base swelled to the 10 million mark. In 1998, the film “You’ve Got Mail” confirmed AOL’s iconic e-mail greeting’s status as a cultural touchstone.
For the first time, it seemed as if just about anything and everything was at our fingertips. Owning your own email address was a novelty, and real-time chats were thrilling. Social currency was measured by how many friends you had on Instant Messenger. AOL may be more of an advertising technology company today, but for Throwback Thursday, we’re celebrating the ads that helped fuel America Online’s race down the information superhighway.
More in Media
Digiday+ Research: Dow Jones, Business Insider and other publishers on AI-driven search
This report explores how publishers are navigating search as AI reshapes how people access information and how publishers monetize content.
In Graphic Detail: AI licensing deals, protection measures aren’t slowing web scraping
AI bots are increasingly mining publisher content, with new data showing publishers are losing the traffic battle even as demand grows.
In Graphic Detail: The scale of the challenge facing publishers, politicians eager to damage Google’s adland dominance
Last year was a blowout ad revenue year for Google, despite challenges from several quarters.