The term "videotext" refers to any interactive electronic system which allows users to send and receive data from either a personal computer or a dedicated terminal. The term "videotext" is often used interchangeably with appellations such as "online service" or "interactive network." Videotext systems deliver information and transactional services such as banking and shopping. These systems differ from broadcast media delivery systems due to the special qualities of interactivity engendered by the technology which allow the user to personalize his media use rather than act as a passive member of an aggregate audience.

Traditionally, videotext systems displayed information only in text format, but as color monitors became more commonplace during the early 1990's, these services began to offer graphical user interfaces (GUIs) which incorporated sound and visually striking computer graphic displays. Although users connected to early videotext systems on dedicated terminals, most online services can now be accessed by the user via a phone line and a personal computer equipped with a modem or Ethernet connection. Videotext users may pay a per-use charge or a monthly subscription fee to access the service.

The first videotext systems were developed in Europe in the 1970s by government-owned telephone companies. The world's largest videotext service is the French Teletel system, which boasts approximately eight million users. This system was launched in the early 1980s as part of an economic plan aimed at making France a leader in information technology. Free "Minitel" terminals were distributed by the French government (in lieu of paper versions of phone directories) and the service was promoted widely as a matter of public policy. Smaller videotext systems in Italy, Ireland, and other countries have made use of the French technology, whereas Germany, Japan, Korea, Britain and other nations have chose to develop their own videotext technologies.

In the United States, videotext systems were initially launched by the newspaper publishers who made news and advertisements through special terminals hooked up to television monitors, but most of these services met with little commercial success. However, the increased diffusion of personal computers into the home eventually enabled consumer oriented videotext systems to succeed in the mass marketplace. By the mid-1990s, more than four million households had subscribed to one or more of the largest consumer-oriented U.S. videotext systems: America-Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, and Genie. Currently these providers are incorporating gateways to Internet applications within their services, including World Wide Web browsers, Usenet newsgroups and electronic mail.

Television broadcasters are making increasing use of online information services to promote their programming; furthermore, several information services aimed at providing services related to the broadcasting industry have been sponsored by the major service providers mentioned above. On CompuServe, for example, users may access the Hollywood Hotline, which provides news and information about the entertainment industry, or they may obtain daily summaries of soap operas or printed transcripts of selected television shows. The CompuServe Broadcast Professionals Area contains information about publications and trade associations related to broadcast engineering, programming and television production. On America Online several networks and cable services have sponsored areas where fans can get information, register their opinions, or obtain sound samples or photos from their favorite programs.

Services provided by videotext fall into one of three areas: information retrieval services such as obtaining stock prices or weather forecasts, transactional message services which enable the purchasing of merchandise over the network, and interpersonal message exchanges which may include conferencing, chat channels or electronic mail. This last application has been the most successful, indicating that consumers are more interested in using the services to talk to other people than to retrieve information.

New developments in broadband television delivery, with its ability to display high-quality video and its incorporation of stereo sound, has encouraged some developers to experiment with providing videotext services over interactive TV systems.

-Aviva Rosenstein