The New Status Symbol: AOL Email Address

AOL.com email addresses are so nineties, right? But apparently they're also a sort of weird status symbol amongst a certain set. Ben Smith first made the argument last week on Politico, noting that despite the "stigma" long associated with the AOL.com domain, there's also "a certain prestige" attached to those who have held on nonetheless. He offers up a long list of politics and media bigshots, including David Axelrod, Matt Drudge, Arianna Huffington, and Ann Coulter, who still have their accounts.

And it turns out celebrities, too, often hang onto AOL.com addresses, a trend observed by Playboy and brought up in a recent interview with Paul Rudd (who, yes, has an AOL.com address). "I like AOL because it’s so embarrassing. People look at you as if you’re a fossil. Which you are. But I enjoy that embarrassment," he says. "I like being on the outside. Having an AOL address is like wearing Ocean Pacific shorts. It’s so uncool that it’s cool." Other celebs who can be reached at AOL.com include Judd Apatow, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman—and, as noted by New York, Tilda Swinton and David Arquette. (More AOL stories.)