The only way to establish any position is through broad-based mass market brand building. And that, as we know, is a rather elusive thing once we stray from conventional media. Infinite choice is not necessarily a good thing for people who mostly prefer time efficiency. Walled gardens, like AOL's, provide a good value proposition for time efficiency. If you have a problem it's fairly easy to get help.
Brand managers insure a certain quality of service.
Walled gardens offer a sense of, more or less, privileged positioning and substantial traffic for companies who, in turn, have a defensible position from which to invest. The question remains whether traffic flow, in alternative media, equates to revenue, let alone to profit. ValueVision, of course, operates a cable shopping channel and now will produce enhanced versions of NBC's standard network fare. And most television-watching people have already given up their personal information to cable or satellite companies just to get the box or the dish. That's one less hurdle those guys will have to get over.