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| CompuServe Brings The Information Age Home |
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PC Communications January 1994 • Vol.5 Issue 1 |
CompuServe Brings The Information Age Home | ||
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There's been much talk in recent years about how we're living in the "information age." While others were talking, CompuServe Inc. counted on the idea that millions of computer users were willing to put their modems where their mouths were and pay hourly fees to tap into a well of information. CompuServe apparently counted right. The company has strung together 22 consecutive profitable years dealing in the physically nonexistent but all -important commodities of information and computing power. The online service may not market the tangible automobiles or steel that made other U.S. companies boom, but CompuServe's subscribers, currently 1.4 million strong, consider information a product valuable enough to merit their subscription dollars. For CompuServe, information isn't an abstract collection of ideas; it's a product upon which to build a business. Facts haven't always been the merchandise of choice for CompuServe. During the company's infancy in 1969, raw computing power was the commodity that helped pay the bills. A Columbus, Ohio, insurance company (CompuServe's predecessor) needed a mainframe computer, but the model it selected was unavailable. The company bought a more powerful machine than it needed. Debra Young, corporate communications specialist at CompuServe, says the company made use of the surplus power by renting computer time to area businesses on nights and weekends. Small firms that couldn't afford mainframes were glad to access the excess capabilities of the computer. For 10 years, the remote computing service and the network that supported it grew. In 1979, according to "The Complete Guide to CompuServe" by Brad and Debra Schepp, CompuServe executives turned their eyes across the seas to Europe. Several experimental information services were enjoying early success and, with a network and powerful mainframes already in place, CompuServe decided to see if a similar service could prosper in the American Midwest; MicroNET was made available to 1,200 computer hobbyists in the area. For two months, these forerunners of modern computer users tested the service and offered feedback on what they would like to see changed. At the end of the test run, MicroNET opened to the mass market; one year later it was renamed the CompuServe Information Service. In the same year, H&R Block bought CompuServe, giving the service the financial backing and corporate support needed to aggressively expand features. Throughout the ‘80s, CompuServe prospered, adding both new features and new subscribers at a steady rate. In 1989, the company bought a competing service called The Source, adding its 50,000 members and bringing CompuServe's user total to 548,000.  Current CompuServe Fourteen years after its inception, the information service is sticking close to home, still contained in two computer facilities in central Ohio. Though CompuServe has stayed in its hometown, it has done a lot of growing up since its wonder years as MicroNET and a young CompuServe. The 1,200 users who pioneered MicroNET were hardly comparable to the masses that now access CompuServe. The hobbyists worked primarily on homemade computers requiring a well -versed operator. 1979 was essentially the prehistoric era of personal computing, sort of a Jurassic PC. There was no Microsoft Windows, no Macintosh from Apple, and no mass-market home computers. Online services, and computers in general, were for the few, the proud, the computer junkies. In 1993, beginners can learn to operate a computer in minutes. And CompuServe is accessible to virtually anyone who can move a mouse. The average CompuServe member is a well-educated, married male living in a household with an income of $93,000. Ninety percent of CompuServe's subscribers are male, and 69% have completed at least a four-year college degree program. Seventy-four percent of the users are married, but 55% have no children under 18 in the home. The CompuServe Information Manager, the service's interface, is available in DOS, Windows and Macintosh formats. The CIM programs put the vast resources and power of the CompuServe network at the control of even the least-experienced users. In fact, Young says, children often learn the interface faster than their parents. "It really does streamline the use of CompuServe," she says. "We get these little wizards who just whip through the service. Kids probably find it easier to deal with than adults do." While the junior hackers are blazing through the service, they'll have access to 1,700 databases and about 350 forums where users communicate with one another. Young says that breadth of service and information, combined with the financial backing of H&R Block, makes CompuServe the most informative, innovative online service available. "There's everything online from tropical fish to computing support to cooking to marketing to law," Young says. "There's probably something for everyone. If you have kids in your home, there's a lot of research and reference available for school reports. There's also a lot of family-oriented data such as the drug reference guide, or the dictionary, or the encyclopedia." The forums and CompuServe Mail, the service's electronic mail system, are two of the most popular online attractions, Young says. She attributes this prominence to the interactive nature of the areas. In the forums, users share thoughts on common interests through message boards and live conferences. Expert speakers frequently go online to answer questions. And more than 450 hardware and software companies offer online customer support. A CB Simulator lets subscribers chat in "real time" conversations, meaning their words are displayed on the service as they are typed. These interactive features are largely used by hobbyists, but they also host professional discussions and business conferences. One caveat attached to the 1,700 databases is that an extra charge accompanies many searches. Searching the newspaper database, for example, costs $5 per search and $4 per article retrieved. CompuServe's basic service package costs $8.95 a month and $8 an hour for unlimited access to 47 services. For users who want hard copy, the service offers CompuServe magazine. The monthly publication features travel, breaking news, and international sections. There are also previews of items for sale in the electronic mall. Young says the magazine helps subscribers get more out of the information service and make efficient use of online time. An online version of the magazine, called Online Today, is available on CompuServe. Service From Suggestions CompuServe's philosophy is to provide customers the most value possible for their money, Young says. To increase that value, CompuServe is continually expanding the service; four new features were added in July and August. "We pride ourselves in offering the most value to our members," Young says. "We will continue to add more to the group of basic services to increase the value." Young says much of CompuServe's value falls under the category of convenience. The Electronic Mall lets subscribers browse 110 merchants ranging from fruit shippers to Buick dealers. The mall, like CompuServe, never closes so online shopping is always available. Users also skirt the headaches of surly clerks and crowded parking lots. If the kids need information for school papers, a trip to the library is replaced with online research. The learning experience offered online, however, goes far beyond searching for articles on Thomas Edison or Stonewall Jackson, Young says. Few children, or adults, have the chance to share thoughts with scholars, professionals, and ordinary people from around the world. Online services offer the chance to savor a truly cosmopolitan chat session from a desk at home. About 70,000 Europeans subscribe to CompuServe, and nearly 300,000 users hail from the Pacific Rim. "One of the neatest things about us is the international flavor," Young says. "Whenever you pose a question or seek information, you may get a response from someone who's in Minneapolis or Milan. We are an international information service with local considerations." In the experimental days of MicroNET, user feedback was critically important to shaping the look of the young service. Members' opinions are no less important now that CompuServe spans the globe. Young says new features are added every day, and more than half of the additions are results of user suggestions. Subscribers regularly call in to make observations and, like a senator's loyal secretary, CompuServe keeps tallies of user comments. Jane Torbica, a corporate communications intern, says groups of users often submit petitions asking for a new service or forum. Special interest groups sometimes launch devoted campaigns to develop areas where they can share ideas, upload information on a topic, and hold conferences. "They're very vocal," Torbica says. "One really impressive thing about the company is that it really listens to what members ask for." Habits At HQ The Columbus-area mainframes in America's Heartland are the heart of CompuServe. Whether users log on from Tel Aviv, Israel, or Toledo, Ohio, the information that streams into their PCs originates at CompuServe headquarters. A 250,000-square- foot main building located on a campus roughly the size of half a city block houses the company. If your company's only product was absolutely dependent upon mainframe computers functioning without fail, you wouldn't be likely to skimp on backup systems. Neither is CompuServe. Backup electricity and water and a potent security system have helped the network achieve a 99% reliability rate, according to company literature. Data files are routinely backed up every day. CompuServe Inc. is actually made up of several business divisions; the Information Services Division is simply the most widely, and for many people the only, known division of the corporation. The Business Services Division, according to the Schepps' book, is the grandfather of CompuServe Inc. as it oversees the operations for which the network was originally created. This division sells communications time and network services to businesses. The Software Products Division produces several types of software including database management systems, financial accounting packages, and newspaper management programs. The Support Services division develops new products for the Business Services and Information Services divisions and services the network. CompuServe employs about 1,700 people worldwide, Young says. Company offices are located in Munich, Germany, and Bristol, England. Occupations at the corporation are like those found in any major business: marketing, editorial, public relations, human resources, and janitorial staffs; and network and PC support technicians. Young says the best perk of working at CompuServe is the flexibility given to employees. Set office hours are largely obsolete at the company as workers set their own weekly schedules. While working, the dress code is "business casual." During the off hours, employees can work out at the on-campus fitness center that remains open at night and on weekends. A PC Purchase plan allows CompuServe "associates" to buy computers interest-free, with the company picking up the remainder of the bill. The idea behind the program, Young says, is to make working at home and linking to CompuServe from home easier for employees. To keep ideas fresh and employees well-informed, CompuServe uses an internship program that allows workers to spend time in different departments. "It helps you understand the inner workings better," Young says. "It probably gives you a stronger sense of what they [other employees] deal with on a daily basis." Coming Up On CompuServe The basis of CompuServe's daily motivation is putting more on the service. The addition might be more news, more research, more live communication, or more transmission speed. Whatever the new feature, the service is dedicated to growth. After all, that's CompuServe's selling point—Young says "depth and breadth" set the service apart from the competition. This summer, the group of basic services expanded with the addition of the American Heritage Dictionary, the Complete Drug Reference Guide from Consumer Reports, and the Travel Britain database. Two former "pay-as-you- go" services, Hollywood Online and Soap Opera Summaries, were also added to basic services, much to the delight of daytime TV addicts. CompuServe recently inked an agreement with a group of suburban New York newspapers owned by the Gannett chain, the owner of USA Today. Young says the agreement will add a forum where the papers' readers can communicate with the editorial staffs. A similar forum for Florida Today is already in place, and Young calls these newspaper chat areas "an up-and-coming thing for the online information industry." For speed-loving subscribers, CompuServe will be available at 14400 bits per second this fall. (Bps measures the amount of data transferred through a modem. The faster the service speed, the less time you need to receive data, and the fewer minutes you'll spend online.) Only selected cities will receive the speedier service, and pricing will be the same as the 9600 bps rate of $16 per hour. A Paris office will open this fall, joining the Bristol and Munich offices in offering customer service, support, and marketing to European subscribers. New foreign language CIMs are in the works for later this year. A French version of DOSCIM is almost ready, and French WinCIM is on the horizon. Forums are already operating in German (as is DOSCIM) and Dutch to serve the significant groups of CompuServe users who speak those languages. Foreign interfaces, the Gannett forum, and faster data transmission are all part of the continuing CompuServe plan of expansion. Engaged in its own form of Manifest Destiny, the service is stretching its exterior limits around the globe and its interior boundaries to new areas of information. But as vast as the CompuServe network may get, it is only as powerful as it is useful to the individual users sitting at PCs in their homes or offices. Keeping that in mind, the service's mission continues to be making the most information available with the least effort on the part of the user. For 22 years and counting, the strategy has paid off. Most observers would agree, things are going pretty well for the insurance company with a little computer time left over on the weekends.  by Trevor Meers
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