Who was AnswerMan? Well, that’s not a difficult question by itself. AnswerMan is who he always has been - Kevin Savetz. Nowadays, he’s a podcaster, Atari historian, web developer, and freelance writer. If you’re a fan of Internet history, you may have stumbled into him. But in the 90’s? Kevin Savetz was more than just a freelancer. He was a force to be reckoned with on the AOL servers. He was the AnswerMan.
America Online, in their quest for Internet Service Provider dominance, came up with a genius slogan: “So easy to use, no wonder it’s number one!” For many people, the Internet and computers in general were strange, foriegn, and sometimes frightening devices. Suddenly, those who had never considered owning a computer were dialing into the Information Superhighway, using a handful of free hours that would get them hooked. At first, AOL was its own proprietary network, but it wasn’t long before it had built-in clients that let people use FTP, Gopher, email, and of course, surf the web.
With all these new users who weren’t sure what they were doing, AOL knew from a business standpoint they had some responsibilities towards their customers. One could argue how effective they were at fulfilling those responsibilities over the years, but it was clear they needed someone to help teach the new members of this global community how it all worked. That is when the idea of an answer man - a being who would be able to guide their new users through this web of webs - was born.
It’s likely that those on the corporate level thought of AnswerMan as a PR figure, to try and convince their users they cared about them more than they cared about their growing paychecks. The person they chose to be the AnswerMan was not some random person who didn’t know what they were doing. They chose someone who was personable, who answered people’s questions to the best of his ability. He was required to showcase the best AOL had to offer, but he knew there was more. He showed the best of the web, tips and tricks that engaged people. And most curious of all? He was nice.
Maybe that’s why he was fired.
Even though AnswerMan was a popular feature, AOL closed down the service on May 26, 1997, giving people until June 1st to save anything they wanted. The community that had been built up around this help center was suddenly silenced, not sure where to turn. In his final “ANSWERMAN INTERNET EXTRA,” Kevin said he’d try to continue the newsletter, but would be forced to charge people, as it wasn’t something he had the time or the resources to do for free. As to how long this newsletter lasted, I do not know. I was only twelve, and a kid asking his parents for $12 dollars to send to some guy on the Internet just to get emails? Let’s just say it didn’t go over very well.
What follows is an archive of various materials that were saved from the AnswerMan project before it was whisked away. Be aware that the archive is not complete, some postings lost to time. What does remain is a testament to the dream of an AOL employee from the mid-90’s to just answer some questions. Even if all those answers are now horribly outdated
*** ANSWERMAN INTERNET EXTRA ***
AnswerMan Weekly Focus
AnswerMan Conference
The AnswerMan Message Boards
Kevin SavetzWe never did forget, AnswerMan. About you. The answers, yes. But not you.