Compuserve takes a dirt nap

A precursor to what would come in the form of a dial up Internet, Compuserve was the first online service to grow a significant customer base. The service was a walled garden, offering news, information, communities, and shopping via it’s proprietary software on your low res green screen. Compuserve was  absorbed by AOL at about the time the open internet began to steam roll over all wall garden services. Neither Compuserve or AOL adopted the open model before it was too late to hold their dominance.

The original CompuServe service, first offered in 1979, was shut down by its current owner, AOL this past week. The service, which provided its users addresses such as 73402,3893, was the first major online service although the number of users has dwindled in recent years. At its height, the service boasted about having over half a million users simultaneously on line. Many innovations we now take for granted, from online shopping, online stock quotations, and global weather forecasts just to name a few, were standard fare on CompuServe in the 1980s.  (Wired)

History tends to repeat itself.  Compuserve is a text book case for what happens to walled gardens when an open alternative becomes available. There are currently walled gardens a plenty that are in the Third Pipe dead pool. Among them are the wireless cartel, cable and satellite TV, and iTunes. I predict none of them will learn from history and change their business model before it’s too late.