Jun 30 2006
Jason Calacanis Mentions Insignificantthoughts.com
I meant to blog this when it happened, but I was a bit busy at the time. One of the many media outlets that picked up my AOL cancellation story was the New York Times. It wasn’t just a historic day for Insignificant Thoughts, though. It was a historic day for Jason Calacanis and his team at Netscape.com:
I didn’t even see this on Saturday’s New York Times… but looks like the Netscape News team got their first mention two days after launch. The meta-journalism thing is gonna be big.
From Jump Shots to Journalism By DAN MITCHELL
17 June 2006 New York TimesWhat Part of ‘Cancel’?
Vincent Ferrari of New York had heard horror stories from people who tried to cancel their AOL accounts. So when he decided to do so, he taped his conversation with a customer service representative. ”Jon” made things very difficult for Mr. Ferrari.
”Just cancel the account; please, just cancel the account,” Mr. Ferrari repeated over Jon’s persistent questions. At the end, Jon insisted on making Mr. Ferrari sit through a sales pitch before he would pull the plug. According to Netscape News, Jon is no longer working at AOL. The audio is available on Mr. Ferrari’s blog at insignificantthoughts.com.
Glad to lose my Times virginity with ya Jason!
Full text of the article here.
Wow…
Technorati Tags: ny times, jason calacanis, vincent ferrari, insignificantthoughts.com
July 1st, 2006 at 9:41 pm
See? The “liberal media” isn’t quite as bad and evil as you right wing nuts make it out to be, is it?
July 2nd, 2006 at 3:46 am
I experienced a MAJOR problem with AOL! I used the trial software and called to cancel when the trial period was over. The told me I would get internet for $14.95 a month, and 1 month free. After all of the pressure…I stayed. They RIPPED ME OFF! (Ignorantly, I hadn’t been paying close attention to my bank statements). Five months later, I realize they have been charging me the $14.95, and an extra $29.95 a month! I looked @ my previous bank statements, and realized they had been charging me this since I set up the service! I for called to figure out why, they told me I had a “5 hour limit plan.” NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT ANY TIME LIMITS! I WAS USING A DIAL UP CONNECTION! IT TOOK WHAT SEEMED 2 BE 5 HOURS TO LOG ON TO THE INTERNET! They got over $250.00 outa me for basic dial up service. They refused to credit my account, but had the audacity to try to get me to upgrade my service! After a 30 minute conversation, he canceled my account. UNFORTUNATELY, I STILL RECEIVED 2 BILLS AFTER I disconnected my service! They charged my account for another $60, which they claim were for previous internet use overages…they still have me in their winback database…i give everyone representative that calls my horror story…i have to get irrate 4 them 2 get the point…AOL SUCKS!
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:19 pm
insignificant thoughts » Blog Archive » Sunday’s New York Times — Get it!
[...] Just a note for all you fans and haters, Sunday’s New York Times will have a 1/3 page article in it about my AOL cancellation story. It’s going to be in the Digital Domain column, and will be written by Randall Stross who is an awesome guy, super nice, and who understands what it’s like to be inundated with the same questions over and over again. Witness, for example, this snippet from his e-mail to me requesting an interview: As you may have seen, your call was mentioned by another reporter in a very brief reference in the Times a week ago last Saturday. This does not do what you captured so well full justice, and I have continued to follow the aftermath of the call with great interest—–it will be the central subject of my Digital Domain column in next Sunday’s Times. [...]