AOL 's triumph over its competition, well chronicled in Swisher's book, rests on the American obsession with brand names. Nothing, including the Bible, has escaped attempts at branding. Think french fries. Head for McDonald's. Reach for Gatorade.
Brands promise many things, including a level of quality, reliability, and service.
The brands we use define who we are as consumers, our spending practices, and our likes and dislikes. Live online chat, all day, every day, has reshaped conversation for tens of millions of people. The chat rooms and message boards of AOL , and indeed, the entire Internet, are redrafting the rules of civil discourse. The biggest human need that chat rooms have met is our deep desire to talk with people like ourselves. Contemporary Americans are experiencing a level of alienation and dislocation unlike any generation before.