Vincent Ferrari

Vincent Ferrari is a New York blogger who became famous in 2006 for his dealings with AOL and its customer service.

AOL controversy

On June 13 2006, Ferrari posted [cite web|url=http://insignificantthoughts.com/2006/06/13/cancelling-aol|title=Cancelling AOL first hand account] an audio file of himself speaking with an AOL representative named "John" and trying to cancel his AOL account. The AOL representative had resisted Ferrari's request by attempting to keep the discussion focused on Ferrari's reasons for wanting to cancel.

In the call, when Ferrari says he doesn't use the account anymore and that his father does not even have the software installed on his computer anymore, the AOL representative cites the number of hours allegedly used in the past month and insists on a detailed discussion of Ferrari's reasons for wanting to cancel. When the 30-year old Ferrari tries to pass over such matters and force the issue of canceling the account (repeatedly saying "cancel the account" and "I don't know how to make it any clearer") the AOL representative asks to speak with Ferrari's father. Ferrari and the AOL representative become more and more confrontational as the call goes on.

The audio file became popular on the Internet and many commenters cited similar experiences with AOL and other companies. The conversation was aired on CNBC. When CNBC reporters tried to have an account on AOL canceled, they were hung up on immediately and it ultimately took more than 45 minutes to cancel the account [cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13447232/|title=MSNBC On the Money entry]

AOL later fired the representative and issued an apology.

Internet fame

Ferrari's airtime on television has been broadcast to many sites over the internet, starting with his own blog [cite web|url=http://insignificantthoughts.com/2006/06/15/what-a-week/|title=Insignificant Thoughts Blog] , and then a Netscape interview. In fact, YouTube recorded over 62,827 hits two days after it was posted [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIVZ9b0RgmY|title=MSNBC Video] . He was also interviewed on Leo Laporte's KFI radio show, where Laporte offered to pass the AOL representative's phone number on to Ferrari, and a possibility for the rep to tell his side of the story during a special podcast to be moderated by Laporte. The rep declined this on the advice of his lawyer [cite web|url=http://www.leoville.tv/radio/ShowNotes/Show259#toc3|title=The TechGuys report] .

Internet Presence

He has a partnership with fellow blogger Michael T. Barrett, known more commonly on the internet as Slobokan. Together they run Second Rate Hosting (an internet hosting service), ISPN Media (a network of podcasts), and they cohost Information Salad (a weekly podcast).

External links

* [http://insignificantthoughts.com/2006/06/13/cancelling-aol/ Original Blog Post]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13447232/ MSNBC article]

References