About Aol !!BETTER!!
The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), who went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client launched in 1988, eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users.[1]
about aol
During the early 1990s, the average subscription lasted for about 25 months and accounted for $350 in total revenue. Advertisements invited modem owners to "Try America Online FREE", promising free software and trial membership.[13] AOL discontinued Q-Link and PC Link in late 1994. In September 1993, AOL added Usenet access to its features.[14] This is commonly referred to as the "Eternal September", as Usenet's cycle of new users was previously dominated by smaller numbers of college and university freshmen gaining access in September and taking a few weeks to acclimate. This also coincided with a new "carpet bombing" marketing campaign by CMO Jan Brandt to distribute as many free trial AOL trial disks as possible through nonconventional distribution partners. At one point, 50% of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo.[15] AOL quickly surpassed GEnie, and by the mid-1990s, it passed Prodigy (which for several years allowed AOL advertising) and CompuServe.[8] In November 1994, AOL purchased Booklink for its web browser, to give its users web access.[16] In 1996, AOL replaced Booklink with a browser based on Internet Explorer, allegedly in exchange for inclusion of AOL in Windows.[17]
On March 31, 1996, the short-lived eWorld was purchased by AOL. In 1997, about half of all U.S. homes with Internet access had it through AOL.[27] During this time, AOL's content channels, under Jason Seiken, including News, Sports, and Entertainment, experienced their greatest growth as AOL become the dominant online service internationally with more than 34 million subscribers. In November 1998, AOL announced it would acquire Netscape, best known for their web browser, in a major $4.2 billion deal.[7] The deal closed on March 17, 1999. Another large acquisition in December 1999 was that of MapQuest, for $1.1 billion.[28]
Under Armstrong's leadership, AOL followed a new business direction marked by a series of acquisitions. It announced the acquisition of Patch Media, a network of community-specific news and information sites focused on towns and communities.[69] On September 28, 2010 at the San Francisco TechCrunch Disrupt Conference, AOL signed an agreement to acquire TechCrunch.[70][71] On December 12, 2010, AOL acquired about.me, a personal profile and identity platform, four days after the platform's public launch.[72]
On May 12, 2015, Verizon announced plans to buy AOL for $50 per share in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. The transaction was completed on June 23. Armstrong, who continued to lead the firm following regulatory approval, called the deal the logical next step for AOL. "If you look forward five years, you're going to be in a space where there are going to be massive, global-scale networks, and there's no better partner for us to go forward with than Verizon." he said. "It's really not about selling the company today. It's about setting up for the next five to 10 years."[3]
Analyst David Bank said he thought the deal made sense for Verizon.[3] The deal will broaden Verizon's advertising sales platforms and increase its video production ability through websites such as HuffPost, TechCrunch, and Engadget.[91] However, Craig Moffett said it was unlikely the deal would make a big difference to Verizon's bottom line.[3] AOL had about two million dial-up subscribers at the time of the buyout.[91] The announcement caused AOL's stock price to rise 17%, while Verizon's stock price dropped slightly.[3]
In May 1999, two former volunteers filed a class-action lawsuit alleging AOL violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by treating volunteers like employees. Volunteers had to apply for the position, commit to working for at least three to four hours a week, fill out timecards and sign a non-disclosure agreement.[144] On July 22, AOL ended its youth corps, which consisted of 350 underage community leaders.[140] At this time, the United States Department of Labor began an investigation into the program, but it came to no conclusions about AOL's practices.[144]
When AOL gave clients access to Usenet in 1993, they hid at least one newsgroup in standard list view: alt.aol-sucks. AOL did list the newsgroup in the alternative description view, but changed the description to "Flames and complaints about America Online". With AOL clients swarming Usenet newsgroups, the old, existing user base started to develop a strong distaste for both AOL and its clients, referring to the new state of affairs as Eternal September.[158]
Following media reports about PRISM, NSA's massive electronic surveillance program, in June 2013, several technology companies were identified as participants, including AOL. According to leaks of said program, AOL joined the PRISM program in 2011.[183]
This website provides a thorough picture of the entire AoL process for the Fogelman College of Business & Economics including a description of our methodology for assessment, current results and recommendations, historical AoL records, and general information about AACSB and the Assurance of Learning model.
In 2015, telecommunications company Verizon announced it was acquiring AOL for $4.4 billion. Analysts say the deal went through primarily because of the massive amounts of data AOL has amassed about its audience. With the help of these resources, Verizon planned to earn on targeted advertising.
AOL is buying the Huffington Post in a deal worth $315 million. Arianna Huffington will be in charge of all AOL content. Kara Swisher, who has written two books about AOL, talks to Renee Montagne about whether the deal will restore some of AOL's luster.
: Well, Ms. Swisher, what do you think it says about the future of online news? And there you get into - maybe you could, you know, answer if this is a good deal for AOL for what it's offering to pay.
Rebecca is a lifelong reader and writer, and loves all things literary from exceptional poetry, to hearing authors speak about their books and their process, to playing word games. Rebecca spent years in technical writing and desktop publishing, as well as being an early childhood educator. Rebecca loves hiking, SUP, kayaking, and camping. She lives with her sweet kitty Bo and enjoys time with friends, as well as down time exploring books, movies and her own writing.
By the late 1990s, the company seemed unstoppable. In 1998, Wall Street Journal columnist (and before that, Washington Post tech reporter) Kara Swisher wrote a book about AOL, "AOL.com," and gave it the breathless subtitle of "How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads, and Made Millions in the War for the Web." (Netheads to AOL: Who's laughing now?)
By 1999, AOL's share price has increased more than 35,000% since its initial public offering in 1992. By comparison, over the twelve years from 1986 to mid-1998, Microsoft's stock price increased about 11,000%. (Financial Times)
"AOL is very adept at the mechanics of a proprietary client, or one that istightly integrated with the server," said Forrester Research analyst Eric Brown."That's increasingly what Navigator and Netcenter are about. AOL liked it,and they're buying it."
Well, you know, I think their slogan was, "So easy to use, no wonder it's number one," and that was the whole thing. The Internet was really complicated and hard to use, and AOL brought it to them in a very easy and friendly fashion in a way that wasn't technological, but was consumer-oriented about communications, about community, and they did a great job at that. Unfortunately, that was their greatest time.
Believe it or not, there was a time when AOL could do no wrong. The company soared in the 1990s, buying out tech companies left and right, and eventually buying Time Warner (which was later sold to AT&T.) At one time it seemed foolish to even compete against them. Yet, as early as the 2000s, AOL users began to be scorned by the more tech-forward internet community. AOL was a walled garden full of dial-up users and the future was more about DSL, fiber, and wireless.
Yes, I know all about how because Gmail is part of the Google extended family of services that it works well with other cute little Google toys like YouTube and that there are all kinds of extensions for Gmail that can enhance its use. I know you can create any number of email addresses. Why would I want to do that, though?
One of the things I really admire about your story is that I know from doing so many of these interviews is that it can often be difficult for people to leave active duty and take a step back in terms of pay and responsibility. I admire that you were willing to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it took to get your foot in the door.
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the transaction, the expected closing date and other statements identified by words such as "may," "will," "intend," "estimate," "should," "expect" or similar expressions. These statements are based on the current expectations and beliefs of AOL's management, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances, including, but not limited to, the approval of the transaction by antitrust authorities and the satisfaction of the other closing conditions to the transaction as well as to factors that could affect the manner, timing and amount of the return of any of the sale proceeds to AOL shareholders including the need for AOL to retain cash for its business or to satisfy liabilities, the tax treatment of the return of proceeds. Any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein, due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological, strategic and/or regulatory factors. More detailed information about these factors as they relate to AOL may be found in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in AOL's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AOL is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 041b061a72