First of all, thanks for the amazing comment! And you're right, absolutely. It's like a poker game, some currencies are better managed than others. Some would make people very happy in the future and others will fail, but just like the AOL example you gave, the internet will take over someday, maybe not with that first company, but it sooner or later it will.
As in which game you should be watching, that's a question I get a lot, and while I cannot give any advice on that since it's a personal decision and everyone has to do their due diligence, this what I would do: I invest in a quite a few, always money that you can afford to lose so you don't mind holding for a long time, and also some put small cash into new currencies that can either crash or can increase their value dramatically. I have friends who spend like 5 bucks from time to time (they call it coffee money) to buy highly volatile currencies, if they lose it's ok they don't mind, but if it skyrockets they're happy depending on how much coffee money they put into it.
It's similar to poker in many ways, but not like it's one game only, it's like you're playing everyday and you need some bankroll management to use gains for savings, profit and to keep playing in new tables each day.
Steem is game worth watching by the way.
Anyways, sorry for the long comment. I hope you're having a great day!
Thank you for your kind response and perspective on the crypto currencies, it is very much appreciated. If you do run across a full house or royal flush be sure and show me your hand when your done. Thanks again.