After all, the profile of Internet users (as far as anyone knows) is biased towards the computer-literate well-qualified better-off person, with more business folk joining up. Some of them might well (judging by comments that you see made on the deficiencies of the Net) appreciate the well-organised, specific, fast way you can search a host like Dialog, and be prepared to come to grips with the search language (or even enjoy it as a challenge - librarians aren't the only masochists).
Online hosts are segmenting their markets and developing targetted products nowadays, which is a change from the early unsophisticated days of marketing. I wonder, though, whether having tried and failed to grab the end-user with 'traditional' online in the 80s, and decided to develop niche products instead, companies are now missing out on a newly-connected market for their existing product. I'm sure that Newsidic readers will have their own ideas on this... [END]