True that had a lot to do with it too. But I remember all the buzz around APRS when it came around.. I never really understood it, if all you're doing is putting a little flag on a map you're not really communicating. And as a privacy advocate I really try to prevent this very thing :P
But some people really loved it and in my area in Europe it absorbed all the buzz around packet. At that point the internet had already been around for a while but packet was still being used. I guess it depends on the region too.
These days there is actually a movement to provide a high-speed backbone microwave net independent of the internet with emergencies in mind. The idea is for it to replace all the internet-based repeater links for DNR, Brandmeister etc It's called hamnet and it's pretty active in the Netherlands and Germany.