CompuServe was the original internet service provider that competed with Prodigy and AOL during the 1990s to constitute the “Big Three”. Founded in 1969 as a time-sharing service, CompuServe would be the first service to offer email and technical support to PC users in 1979. A year later it would unveil real-time chat and by 1989 it would be the first online service to offer internet connectivity.
By the time the 90s came around, there was still a lot of uncertainty about the internet. Why read articles on your computer when you can just read them on a newspaper? With the general lack of awareness in mind, CompuServe set out to explain the internet with its “I use it to…” campaign.
By the mid 90s CompuServe had over 4 million members worldwide. But unlike today when we access the internet every day, back then only 20% of internet users went online daily. CompuServe wanted to grow, and it played heavily on the novelty of the World Wide Web.
The World Wide Web, the Information Superhighway, or whatever other name was used to describe the global database of articles, posts and images was cutting edge tech. Instead of opening a magazine and reading what editors had decided you’d see, you were now in control. You could search for anything of interest on HotBot, AltaVista, Yahoo, Excite and other old skool search engines, and you’d be presented with information.
It soon became cool to say “surfin’ the net” or “surfin’ the web” when asked about your hobbies. As CompuServe mentioned in its brochures, the World Wide Web was “the most dramatic and exciting part of the Internet”.
It’s hard to explain the thrill and sense of wonder one would get when you entered a chatroom for the first time and realised you were communicating in real time with people from the other side of the world. Up until then, communication was primarily done in person, by written letter and one-to-one telephone conversations.
CompuServe was eventually acquired by AOL in 1998 for $1.2 billion, then gradually phased out. While it’s no longer around today, it pioneered internet concepts like online forums, email, and e-commerce that not only changed the internet, but also changed the world.
