RSSYear in Review: AOL Reinvents Itself
By Nate Mook | Published December 29, 2005, 6:48 PM
2005 was a critical year for America Online in which it attempted to shed its image as an un-hip ISP and re-brand itself as a leading Internet destination. The company also launched the first ever major overhaul to AIM and embraced blogs. But can AOL really bring back the cool?
January kicked off the first of many changes to AOL.com with a new search that combined its own editorial content and Google results. The new site set the stage for a complete company makeover that would take place throughout the year. Hints of an expansion to AOL Desktop Search also came to light as the year got underway.
As new services launched, others were put to rest. In late January, AOL pulled the plug on its Usenet newsgroups -- one of the oldest parts of the Internet that dates back to the 1980s, which has largely been replaced by blogs and e-mail.
AOL came out swinging in February with a number of product launches. A beta version of AOL Browser with integrated desktop search was opened to the public and ICQ 5 quietly emerged with voice calling features. AIM was updated with capabilities to sync with Microsoft Outlook.
AOL Music was forced into damage control mode after a DRM hole in Winamp enabled copying of protected audio files, but February also saw the official launch of AOL Local Search and the first inklings of AOL's intentions to open AIM as a platform for third parties.
Spring arrived with a number of new betas, including the Firefox based Netscape 8.0, which had been resurrected at the end of 2004. In March, AOL tested Pinpoint Travel, and unveiled plans to launch a free Web mail service to compete with Gmail.
Before the month was out, the company announced plans to enter the Internet telephony market with a paid VoIP service, which would launch within weeks.
But April was the month of music for AOL. The company partnered with XM to stream satellite radio channels to Radio@AOL listeners, the first deal of its kind. AOL also unveiled a beta of a new media player known as AMP, and began offering free music videos on its Web site.
BetaNews was given the first glimpse at AIM Triton in late April and AOL began to discuss its plans to make the ubiquitous instant messaging client the center of its new Web strategy. Initial reviews were positive, but wary of AOL changing its IM stalwart.
AOL joined the blogosphere in May with the launch of AIM Journals, which were open to all users. The company also made good on its promise and debuted AIM Mail, offering 2GB of storage. May saw the release of the second AIM Triton beta as well.
June would bring the biggest external change for AOL during the year: a complete makeover of AOL.com from corporate Web site to content portal complete with AOL services. The company also added video clips to its media search and removed storage restrictions on AIM Mail.
AOL continued its monthly updates of AIM Triton in June with Beta 3.
The month of July would prove a milestone in AOL's transition from ISP to Web destination. Live 8 concerts took place on July 2 and AOL streamed the event as it happened to homes around the world. The company blew away coverage from MTV and made clear that the Web as a medium can reach a mainstream audience.
July also brought AOL's first standalone e-mail client, a deal that tied together AIM and Plaxo, and the official launch of AOL Explorer -- the company's alternative to IE. In addition, AOL rolled out a beta RSS aggregator on AOL.com and legal MP3 downloads of certain Warner artists.
AOL kept the momentum going into August with the purchase of Xdrive and Wildseed. Mobile AOL services were launched for cell phones and the company gave the first look at its new AOL Suite, a single package comprised of AOL Mail, Explorer and AIM Triton.
AIM Triton started to get its legs in September with a public preview release, but rumors of talks between the company and Microsoft overshadowed the news. AOL also added a podcasting directory and detailed a future voice calling service it planned to integrate into Triton.
October was a slow month for releases, but AOL took another step into the mainstream by purchasing blog network Weblogs, Inc. The first AIM ad campaign was kicked off shortly thereafter to promote the coming release of Triton.
Discontinuing its AMP media player, AOL instead launched a Web based subscription music service in early November with the acquisition of MusicNow. The company additionally updated AOL Photos with AJAX capabilities and announced downloads of older TV shows, which would utilize P2P technology.
Slightly marring the final launch of AIM Triton in late November, AOL faced a public relations debacle after deciding to automatically add two AIM bots to the buddy lists of millions of users. AOL's main executive behind Triton also announced plans to leave the company in early December.
Sill, AOL kept going strong through the end of the year with a new Safety and Security Center and the addition of MTV content to its Video Search. The year ended on a high note with a $1 billion investment from Google along with an expanded strategic partnership.
It's going to be a long year ahead for America Online as it continues to rebuild its business from the ground up. Millions of subscribers will leave AOL, but the company must attempt to keep them using its free services once they are gone. AOL Suite and AIM will play a central role in this effort, and even without another Live 8, 2006 will be the year to watch AOL.
I tried the new AOL browser. I personally don't like it. Each to his own, ehh? Cheers.
Score: 0
|"i love america online"
I do too! I'm not a techie like you are, but I do love the ease and simplicity of this program. The nay sayers can say all they want to because as far as I'm concerned it only increases the popularity of this great provider. I love to read all of what you have to say, good or bad. So, post away with your negative comments.
Score: 0
|i love america online
ive been on the net since it started. im a techie who builds his own rigs and am an advanced user who knows his way around computers, and yet, i choose to use aol because it meets my needs, and version 9.0 security edition is great with free antivirus and free antispyware programs included. and unlimited email. that saves me money not having to purchase them. (and no i dont work for them,but i do beta test their software) im just a regular user and i like their new video content coming up.
if you dont like america online thats your choice. its a free country. they did a great job with live 8, and its easier for me to have everything all in one place. its a timesaver.again if you guys dont like it thats cool. im glad your bad expirence is over.
if i hated america online as much as you do i wouldn't waste my time surfing message boards posting hotheaded comments which only make you look out of control of yourself. step away from the keyboard slowly...take a deep breath...and go pour yourself a nice cool non-alcholaholic beverage.
but get over it, move on with your life. all you're doing is causing more people who never thought of using them to check them out to see what all the fuss is about. (thats how i joined) and those of us that like them wont stop using them because of you.
lifes too short to waste it complaining about america online.
happy new year!
Score: 0
|Hey, i'll give AOL credit for one thing. They provide an uninstaller. :)
Score: 0
|TomA102210,
"Thirty Million People Can't Be Wrong."
Sure... but they can damn well be uninformed, mindless, lazy, sheeple.
It's called the USA, and there are billions of them.
Proof?
DMCA
Patriot Act
Intelligent Design
The Pledge of Alliegence
In God We Trust
RIAA
MPAA
The b****^W^WHillary Clinton
The list is virtually endless.
Find another cliched, marketing catch-phrase to justify your stand. Your current one sucks.
Have a nice Day.
Score: 0
|Oh, boy, tool, I sure do enjoy rattling your dinky little chain. But, have a happy new year anyway if that's possible for you to do.
Score: 0
|lmao
I'll manage...
I don't know about rattling my chain though...I just can't grasp why you so blindly defend something you admittedly no nothing about.
Is it just to get others riled up? If you're simply trolling, I'm disappointed.
Otehrwise, please, tell me why AOL is so good compared to other services. Speed? Stability? Resource usage? Compatibility? Ease of Use? r is it simply personal preference...with no real basis to argue for or against other than, "I like it"?
Not rattled, just curious. Basing your argument for AOL on numbers is like defending the neighboorhood dealer pushing crack because, hey...over 30 million people in the US alone are already hooked.
Score: 0
|Aw heck, tool, why should I defend AOL? I'm just a "sheeple" afterall. Negative or positive you still attract these "sheeple" like myself to try an already excellent provider. Keep posting because you're helping other "sheeple" get more curious about a provider many of us love. And you know what? I'm doing my part to assist you. Bash away, tool!
Sheeple unite!
Score: 0
|"Find another cliched, marketing catch-phrase to justify your stand. Your current one sucks."
-----------------------------------------------
Cliched or not, that phrase has been working for quite some time. Personally, tool?...I think you're a control freak. Get over yourself, already. For all the good your argument is doing you might as well piddle on the steps of AOL in Dulles, VA.
Score: 0
|Maybe someday you find theres a lot more to life than bashing every major corporation out there. At least AOL is trying... which is more than I can say for most people. SO why don't ya quit being a ... well a ... tool ;-)
Score: 0
|Why anyone would use this garbage is beyond me, other than not knowing any better.
Score: 0
|"Why anyone would use this garbage is beyond me, other than not knowing any better."
---------------------------------------------
Thirty million and growing are using what you and a few other uninformed individual refer to as garbage. You express your ignorance quite well by providing absolutely nothing substantive to back up what you say.
Score: 0
|"Thirty million"
Yeah, there are a lot of suckers out there, aren't there?
Score: 0
|Hasn't AOL tried to change for the last few yaers now and fail horriably at it. It just seems anything they do fails. To me AOL is for those who dont know theres options out there, and as a business well remember AOL-Time Warner. That went real well. Wonder why they pulled out after such a short time.
Score: 0
|In this day and age for those looking for a provider it would be literally impossible not to know there are options out there. People choose AOL because that is the one they want just as others choose another ISP.
Score: 0
|Or it could have something to do with marketing... and the fact that their betting (somewhat successfully) that once the sheeple sign up, they'll be too lazy to look elsewhere, not matter what BS they're fed.
Tie an elephant to a chain long enough and you'll be able to keep it tied to a string for the rest of it's life.
Score: 0
|"Have you ever tried leaving AOL?"---Five years ago after finding out i was useing a over priced service and had them shut off the service off they still billed me for four months and did not refound any of my money . Am i the only one ? i think not
Score: 0
|If you don't know that you had options for recovering that four months you paid I'd say that you didn't deserve to get your money back.
Score: 0
|well they did approve one thing they stopped sending me free AOL software CD's. I guess they just send those to there subscribers now.
Score: 0
|Nope. They litter the walls of just about every Target, Wal-mart and Kmart in existance.
Score: 0
|As with most people I know, I have no more interest in *anything* AOL than I did a year ago.
It's gotta be the name. I know they've improved in all kinds of areas, but I can't get past the name and all that comes with it.
AOL still means "Internet for Dummies" to me and most of the folks I know, and will continue to do so ad infinatum.
I seriously don't think that will ever change. They can promote and change all they want, and they will still fail because the name is typecast.
(Just like Jenna Elfman will always be Dharma...even if she tries to play a lawyer. I'll keep thinking, "Where's Jane?")
Score: 0
|"As with most people I know, I have no more interest in *anything* AOL than I did a year ago."
And I say, "Ask for your limitations and sure enough, they're yours."
Score: 0
|I fail to see a negative side here regarding AOL...
Score: 0
|AOL is junk, and why Google cohabitates with them is for the adware. AOL is nothing but adware. A bloated piece of software that corrupts registry and internet settings, and don't get me started on the over-hyped staff they have working for them. Have you ever tried leaving AOL?
I give them all the credit due for bringing the instant messaging service out into the open. They are like the two-way of Nextel. But I am sorry, Nextel sucks. They have taken a good thing and screwing their customers. It has taken them 'til now to dramatically improve the thing, and one or the only program that has kept them in the game up to this point.
People don't know any better that there is a whole world out there, and they are missing out on it. Why would anyone pay $23.00 for a dialup connection when you can do broadband for half that amount? AOL fills the system tray with junk programs that can't even help itself stay working let alone the entire system. It is a program that is truly thinking about itself rather than the whole. I wish they would develop their own standalone version(no OS needed) and get off the system entirely.
I am glad MS left them alone.
Score: 0
|"Have you ever tried leaving AOL?"
Ever tried removing a tumor...self-surgery style? It's easier than leaving AOL.
as an aside...
You don't by chance, hate AOL, do you?
Score: 0
|Hate is a strong word, but I do dislike them - a lot! In my business, I deal and see a lot of crap when it comes to AOL. But mainly, I see people that are not aware of their choices and once informed - many leave AOL.
Score: 0
|I left AOL about 3 months ago and had no trouble at all
I still use there webmail service with no probelms
Score: 0
|Gotta admit, it was many years ago I cancelled my wife's (girlfriend at the time) account with them.
It actually escalated into a yelling match before I finally hung up, went outside for a bit to cool down and called back.
"Hello, I wish to cancel "blank" account. I do not want 30 days, 3 months, 6 months, or a year of free service. I do not want to take a survey. I do not want to try your new software. The last for digits on the card used to create the account are NNNN. The only thing I want to hear from you now is, "Thank you, Sir. The account will be cancelled effective today. Have a nice day.""
Entire conversation took less than 30 seconds that time.
*sigh*
I can only hope things have improved...
Score: 0
|30 million and growing can't be wrong. Ever heard the expression "spitting in to the wind"? That's how futile your argument is. So what if AOL means "Internet for Dummies". Many and "As with most people I know" like AOL. Regarding AOL, I think you sound like a bitter little man.
Score: 0
|LOL! I just love to hear all the AOL haters talk s***. Hehe
Score: 0
|Lol
"I can only hope things have improved..."
Not a chance. Remember this?:
http://www.betanews.com/...licy_Dispute/1124905172
Score: 0
|"LOL! I just love to hear all the AOL haters talk s***. Hehe"
-----------------------------------------------
Darn it, I do too. Little do they realize that they are walking, living and breathing advertisements for curious individuals who have never tried AOL to give it a try.
Score: 0
|"30 million and growing can't be wrong."
I live in a country that allows one organization to extort ~$3000 from over 4000 people.
There are over a billion people in this country.
Now try telling me 30 million people can't be wrong again.
Sheeple tend to go with the herd and like it...it's what makes them sheeple.
Have a nice day.
Score: 0
|As you would say...
Millions of horror stories can't be wrong.
Score: 0
|Proud to be a "sheeple", tool. Mighty proud and mighty proud to claim AOL as my provider too. You hang in there though kid. I still think you're spitting in to the wind though.
Score: 0
|"AOL is junk, and why Google cohabitates with them is for the adware. AOL is nothing but adware. A bloated piece of software that corrupts registry and internet settings, and don't get me started on the over-hyped staff they have working for them."
-----------------------------------------------
I think that with Google being as successful as they are that perhaps they know something that you don't know. I am inclined to believe that they are visionary in their thinking and think outside the box, unlike you. Google is duplicating their success in other words. Can you say that you have done that?
As for corrupting registry and internet settings, I seriously doubt that AOL was solely responsible for that much less even a little bit.
As for filling the system tray with junk programs as you say, I've never had that problem unless I wasn't paying attention to the install process. And, even if I did find something there from AOL I didn't want, it was easy to get rid of it.
Paying $23.00 for dial-up? Hey, I have a DSL connection with AOL and I'm paying a total of $23.90. In other words, AOL is competitive with the marketplace.
Score: 0
|As you woud say...
Millions of success stories can't be wrong either.
So we're tied.
Score: 0
|You must be kidding! The AOL customer service moved off-shore to India...
Score: 0
|The AOL software is good for home users, but stops there, any one who has some basic knowledge of the intracasies in windows will not like the over bloated software aol installs,
but there service it self is brilliant!!!!
in fact apart from our router crashing from time to time they have never gone down (well. perhaps once) inside of 3 and half years, now that is good going if you ask me,
but back to there software, a joke if you ask me, to much and to many scanners and apps all running,
windows xp processess average after install is about 27-33 (depending on your machine) but with AOL installed this goes up by about 10, to many if you ask me,
also i have to mention that there coustomer service is a joke, with AOL it's a clear picture that there CS staff have no technicle skill what so ever, and there quick to just say "yes... there sounds like something is wrong with your machine" which fare enough a lot of companies do do this aswell,
also don't mention that you have a router that they don't support because they immediatly cut you off virtually (i even had one say that AOL does not work unless you use one of there recommended routers which of course is wrong, all you have to do is change the MTU setting from 1432 - 1400),
but all in all,
if you have a good router, and you don't use there over bloated and not well intergrated nor efficient software then AOL's service is A1, they really do give what they say they do, i have a full 2mb, and trust me when i say i always get what i apy for without complaint,
this is only my opinion of course, but there software is just not professional enough, a bit like the retail versions of symantec software now, overbloated, and made for kick a** machines only, because AOL software does not run well on slow machines. but the machines them selves can run there internet just fine without the software, in fact the software sometimes refuses to install if you don't have enough resources which is bizar really, because i would of thought they would loose a lot of coustomers doing this,
at least put in a option AOL to install AOL without having there software installed with it, explorer can connect to AOL without the need of this software using some tricks, but this should not have to be the case....
Score: 0
|