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1997
comments: I wrote this back in 1990 for a regional business
journal. It's fun to go back and read this from time
to time, it makes me realize just how far this "hobby"
of mine has progressed. Then again neither myself or
the internet has yet to decide what it wants to be when
it grows up......
1990 article:
There are over 118 million
phone lines, and 92 percent of all Americans have at
least one. Probably less than one million Americans
are using the world of computer telecommunications to
its fullest potential. According to Peter Norton, a
renown computer journalist, "While other application
categories such as word processors and databases are
pushing the limits of their capabilities, telecommunications
is still in its infancy. For those who missed many of
the early events in the computer revolution, here is
an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a rapidly
growing but still misunderstood new technology."
There will come a day when
we can blame the phone system for losing our mail rather
than our friends at the post office. Electronic mail
is slowly working its way into every day usage. The
electronic "mailbox" is inside your computer.
Quicker and more efficient than conventional mail, it
even does the fax one better. If you read your mail
and decide not to save it, there is no paper to throw
away. E-mail, as it is sometimes abbreviated, is an
offshoot of Telex. Telex is a worldwide system for sending
messages between typewriters that has been going strong
for close to a century. E-mail can be used to create
a bulletin board system of information gathering and
storage.
Computerized Bulletin Board
Systems (BBS) grew into existence during the 1970's.
Just like the old fashioned paper and cork board versions,
the BBS is a place that acts as a central point to store
and exchange information. Recent estimates of modem
sales and memberships in online services suggest that
less than one percent of all Americans have ever used
a computer bulletin board system. To say the potential
application of the technology is in its infancy is a
definite understatement.
Let's start on more familiar
ground to explain bulletin board systems (BBS). It's
safe to say that most Americans at one time or another
have been in a donut shop. Imagine yourself stopping
in for a fattening late night snack and a cup of coffee.
On your way to the counter you see a bulletin board;
it is the old fashioned type, cork board with a wood
frame and metal push pins stuck in all over. This old
fashioned bulletin board is the community information
center.
Let's say you are shopping
for a car. You walk up to the bulletin board and on
a clean sheet of paper you write, "What do you
think of Mazda's? Signed Tommy P." Then drink your
coffee, eat your donut, and you leave. The next evening
you return to the donut shop, not only for your craving
of a sweet snack, but to see what has been added to
your bulletin board posting. On the bottom right corner
you have a scribbled message, "Hey Tommy P., I've
owned a Mazda for years. I think they are great. Signed
Suzie M." Tacked to a corner of your bulletin is
a note, "Hey Tom, if you're looking for a foreign
car, why not try a Toyota. Signed Freddie B." You
have no idea who are the respondents to your bulletin.
Since it's been 24 hours since you last posted your
bulletin, your responses have been posted at any time.
Your respondents may
be part of your neighborhood, or just a one time visitor
to the donut shop. The same thing is true with a computer
BBS, only on a larger scale. Respondents to a computer
BBS may be local, regional, national, or even international,
depending on the BBS used. Just like in the donut shop,
on a computerized BBS you may have no clue to the identity
of your respondents. The usage and application of a
BBS for a business can be diverse. In our car shopping
bulletin, in a few days you may get several opinions
on Mazda's, as well as off shoot bulletins on other
makes and models. If you were the local Mazda dealer,
reading this bulletin board could give you positive
and negative feedback on your product. If you personally
set up this bulletin board, you could also gain an insight
into what your own customers think of the competition
and how they compare your brand to the other brands
they may own.
Starting a BBS on a local
level could be an expensive proposition. It is more
advisable to start a BBS if your product has regional,
if not national appeal. The person using the computerized
BBS would tend to be above average in education and
income due to the development of the technology and
its current usage. You can provide a forum for your
product's users. You can have customers trade advice
and tips with each other, as well as monitoring these
opinions for your marketing usage.
So what does all this great
information cost? If you offer nationwide service, or
even regional service, you will probably need several
phone lines dedicated to your BBS. While your customer
support BBS could be a powerful public relations tool,
it could easily cost you $500 to $1000 a month just
in phone time. Just about any desktop personal computer
equipped with a modem could serve as your BBS. Although
most of the software and documentation you find will
be for MS-DOS based systems. The modem converts the
digital conversation of the computer to audio tones
which are understood by our current analog telephone
systems. The cost of the needed hardware could be a
few thousand dollars. The key to hardware choice is
time versus money. The faster your computer and modem,
the less time spend on phone lines. A customer support
BBS is usually free to users but don't feel embarrassed
to charge for access, especially if you make specialized
information available to users of your BBS.
As with any other type
of software, BBS software may be wide ranged in price,
from a low cost single user version of less than $100,
to a commercial grade with a price tag of over $1000.
A popular BBS program with several versions is available
from Mustang Software, Inc., of Bakersfield, CA. Mustang's
"Wildcat! BBS" is a widely used program by
amateurs as well as professionals. Rather than going
through time and expense of setting up your own bulletin
board system, it may be more cost effective to become
a part of an existing BBS. The popular information networks
such as Delphi, GEnie, and CompuServe offer their subscribers
access to many specialized BBS clubs. There are hundreds
of amateur and semi-pro BBS across the country with
special interest groups available for just about any
topic. Adding a modem to your existing PC will cost
you $200 or less. Modems are rated by baud rate, which
is the rate of symbols transmitted per second. The typical
PC Telecommunications program for the individual user
will cost less than $100. While initial start up cost
for the BBS user can be small, the monthly service charges,
which may or may not include phone time, can easily
add up to $50 or more per month. The computer bulletin
board systems are just one of the many new information
horizons opened by PC telecommunications. You may make
new friends or business contacts by joining a BBS. You
may find information found no where else. You broaden
your companies market and information gathering abilities
by starting your own BBS. Like all other forms of technology,
it has a price. Since your costs may be based on real
time usage, you could run up quite a phone bill as well
as usage surcharges if you are not careful. As in any
new endeavor, be slow and steady. Slowly gauge your
efficiency, as well as your ability, in affording the
vast array of knowledge at your fingertips.
1997 Comments: I think
it's interesting to note that of the three online services
I mentioned in this article (in 1990): CompuServe,GEnie,
Delphi, today (1997) only CompuServe has made the transition
to online service / internet service provider. America
Online was also in existence back then and has also
survived the transition to the internet. (Even more
recently CompuServe was absorbed by America Online.)
While many BBS still exist, much of the information
on local club type BBS's has now migrated to the Internet
with thousands of "Newsgroups" (Usenet). The
analogy of the Usenet to a donut shop cork board still
holds true.
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