Is AOL Finally Crashing and Burning? 193
Posted
by
kdawson
from the got-enough-coffee-coasters-thanks dept.
from the got-enough-coffee-coasters-thanks dept.
An anonymous reader writes "AOL's disastrous quarterly report showed cash from continuing operations was down 44% from a year ago (adjusted operating income was down 37%), as it continues a rocky transition from monthly subscription fees to advertising. (Their quarterly report also notes 'the cessation of large-scale access subscriber acquisition campaigns' — investor-speak for the fact that AOL will finally stop mass mailings of free trial accounts.) Unfortunately, AOL's advertising business 'did even worse. Its revenues declined by $110 million... every single segment is down.' AOL has already lost 86% of the 30 million subscribers it reported in 2001 — down to just 4.3 million — but advertising hasn't yet filled the gap (possibly because many AOL ads had been displayed to the users AOL no longer has). But at least, as one technology blogger notes, AOL has finally released a mobile application, 'in the new definition of "late to the party."'"
Re:They still mail CDs ?? (Score:1, Funny)
Hopefully they will get some new management, either people or new ideas, in time to save the business.
Why? did you grow attached to them emotionally? did anyone?
Re:What does AOL even do? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:What would you do? (Score:3, Funny)
"So what would you do if you were running AOL?"
It's too late. The relentless determination to suck despite years of criticism is irreversible.
The brand is tainted, sell it off.
There goes the Eternal September (Score:4, Funny)
Re:They still mail CDs ?? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:What would you do? (Score:2, Funny)
A friend on AOL... Sure.... Actually I have a friend I have been trying to get off of AOHell for years. All you can do is try to teach them about the "Real" internet and introduce them to Firefox or Chrome and whatever email program of they don't want to use web based email. Also remember to secure their computer real good because AOL has been doing the babysitting for them and they will be in the wild wild intertubes!
Re:There goes the Eternal September (Score:2, Funny)
;)
I kid, I kid.
All companies come and go. (Score:2, Funny)
Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Tumblr and all the current web 2.5 (2.0 was years ago) will be replaced by the next "Big Thing", and AOL might come back as the you nostalgia you lose ISP. In 2020 you will see AOL CDs with new FirefAOL 7.0 with 1 Quadrillion free nanoseconds nanogigabit internet access for your MacOS Liger and Windows 9ista.
Also Linux will still have 0.8% market share.
About freaking time (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe they should go into chat rooms and ask for help...with the CAPS lock on, of course.
Future generations won't understand... (Score:4, Funny)
just how funny a list of 101 uses for AOL disks really is.
http://www.joke-archives.com/aol/aoldisk.html [joke-archives.com]
Damn shame, kids won't have anything to shove under the front legs of a pinball machine
Re:They still mail CDs ?? (Score:5, Funny)
>> I used them as coasters.
Yeah, they fit perfectly in the cupholder on my machine.
Re:What would you do? (Score:4, Funny)
I've heard there are some good tractor trailer training schools out there ...
Re:What would you do? (Score:5, Funny)
The CEO will probably be paid a large bonus whether he drives the company out of existence...
If the CEO is able to drive AOL out of existence, he deserves to get paid a large bonus for such a tremendous public service.
Re:One way they have stayed afloat. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:What would you do? (Score:1, Funny)
Advertise on television that AOL is now web 2.0, more private than Facebook, and hiring bloggers.
Facebook has been web 2.0 for ages. AOL needs to go for at least web 2.5 if it wants to get ahead.