60% of AOL's Profits Come From Misinformed Customers

satuon writes "Ken Auletta's big New Yorker piece on AOL (subscription only) this week revealed an interesting detail about the company's inner workings. According to Auletta, 80% of AOL's profits come from subscribers, and 75% of those subscribers are paying for something they don't actually need. According to Auletta: "The company still gets eighty percent of its profits from subscribers, many of whom are older people who have cable or DSL service but don't realize that they need not pay an additional twenty-five dollars a month to get online and check their e-mail. 'The dirty little secret,' a former AOL executive says, 'is that seventy-five percent of the people who subscribe to AOL's dial-up service don't need it.'"

Comments

So's Facebook

[dougvdotcom]

And what about the 500 million-plus people who misuse Facebook for everything? Maybe it's free beer, but don't we all have "friends" on Facebook who are driving around on it drunk? As others have, and will, say, I know a lot of elderly people who couldn't be on the Internet if it wasn't for AOL's point-and-shoot simplicity. At least AOL largely confines their n00bishness to within AOL. Facebook is far worse, because we're all subjected to it.

99% of MS profits come from misinformed users...

[flyingfsck]

Obligatory MS bashing: How many people would use MS products if they were properly informed of alternatives?