AOL overtook both rivals by rejecting censorship and the ad-based model

Evidence

Prodigy’s censorship, as well as its stubborn adherence to the ad-based model, helped AOL gain enough momentum to come from behind and overtake both Prodigy and CompuServe. By 1995, AOL would boast over four million subscribers. Slow and steady CompuServe had ridden the boom to just four million, while Prodigy was at two million and dropping. By 1997, when AOL cemented its dominance by buying CompuServe, which had effectively thrown in the towel, its usership rose to nearly 12 million. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 722

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the chapter’s broader claim that user experience and openness beat advertising-first models in the early online era. — connects to: AOL’s seedy reputation probably accelerated rather than slowed its growth — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 713; AOL grew advertising revenue to $2 billion partly via a scheme called Project Confidence — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 729; Prodigy’s advertiser-driven censorship prefigured today’s state-controlled internet — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 721 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Prodigy’s advertiser-driven censorship prefigured today’s state-controlled internet #exemplifies (0.90) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 721
• AOL grew advertising revenue to $2 billion partly via a scheme called Project Confidence #complicates (0.85) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 729
• AOL fraudulently inflated advertising revenue through accounting schemes #complicates (0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 738