America on Hold: How the Internet Arrived

She was a copywriter turned marketer who watched focus groups attempt to use computers. She knew the internet wasn't a product you could sell. You needed to give people a way in. Her name was Jan Brandt, and she decided to mail it to them.In this episodeJan Brandt: The architect of America Online's carpet bombing strategy that put a billion discs in American handsOmaha Steaks, airlines, and grocery stores: how the discs became inescapableA 150-pound throne and a museum case: What happened to the AOL discs that didn't go in the trashThe digital divide: The people who got left behindEpisode MusicJames Opie / Nihilore, CC BY 4.0There's Garbage in the Mariana TrenchMorality CentreHemiteleiaWhere There is No DarknessAdditional ReadingMcCullough, B. (2014, August). She gave the world a billion AOL CDs: An interview with marketing legend Jan Brandt [Podcast episode]. Internet History Podcast. https://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2014/08/she-gave-the-world-a-billion-aol-cds-an-interview-with-marketing-legend-jan-brandt/National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (n.d.). Data Central. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.ntia.gov/topics/data-centralRamo, J. C. (1997, September 22). How AOL lost the battles but won the war. Time. https://time.com/archive/6731455/how-aol-lost-the-battles-but-won-the-war/Smithsonian Institution. (n.d.). America Online (AOL) disc [Object record, NMAH catalog no. 2010.3015.05]. National Museum of American History. https://www.si.edu/object/nmah_1395721 Support the showFound in the Machine is a narrative technology podcast about the forgotten history of computing, software, and the internet. Hosted by Daina Bouquin, each episode uncovers the true story behind a piece of computer history. These are the forgotten people, decisions, and accidents that quietly shaped the digital world. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also sign up to receive Notes from the Machine with each episode.You can support the show and independent booksellers by purchasing from the show's bookshop at bookshop.org/shop/foundinthemachine.