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AOL Hopes to Change Image With Services

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the watch-for-low-flying-pigs dept.

Geoffrey writes "'In an effort to earn a new reputation as a leading Internet destination, AOL will open up to a wider audience on the Web through AOL.com. The portal will re-launch in beta form on Tuesday, offering visitors free Web mail, exclusive audio and video content, and access to a number of AOL services previously available only to subscribers,' reports BetaNews. The new AOL.com will highlight news from the blogosphere, offer free access to 15,000 videos, 130 radio stations, and 20 XM stations. In addition, AOL is launching an RSS aggregator that aims to make RSS actually simple for normal Web users. And unlike MSN's RSS endeavor, My AOL will work in Firefox, Safari and other browsers."

17 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Sorry AOL by chadpnet · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hate to break the news to you but you are 12 years too late.

    1. Re:Sorry AOL by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 5, Interesting

      AOL was a useful service once upon a time, like compuserve and prodigy. Technology has obsoleted it, and now they're struggling to find a place in the world.

      Unfortunately corporations reach a point where they feel like they must be immortal. Sometimes you make something people like for a while, then they don't need it and you need to find something else to do. It's no ones fault, it just happens. Time to move on, do it gracefully, help your employees move on and then close up shop.

      AOL however seems to envision itself as an eternal net parasite, preying on people who don't know any better. At least they could make nicer coasters.

      --
      Austerity Empowers, Councilor for the Undead

    2. Re:Sorry AOL by Momoru · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Um...great idea AOL, offer even LESS of a reason for people to continue paying for your service? Right now the only reason to stay a member is for the "exclusive content" (oh and the delightful chat rooms?). Now they are taking a lot of that exclusivity away? For the love of God AOL, you are a part of Time Warner...surely someone somewhere can see a better way to leverage all that media power???

    3. Re:Sorry AOL by joelsanda · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Time to move on, do it gracefully, help your employees move on ...

      Maybe that's what they're doing now? "Closing up shop, as you call it, is just stupid if they can reinvent who they are and evolve.

      Ford made cars that were overtaken by technological advances in automobile design. They didn't "close up shop" - they evolved and improved their product (I drive a Jeep, so that's an assumption).

      --
      The Luddites were ahead of their time.
  2. Frankly.. by aldatur · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think that AOL will always have a stigma with geeks of being a piece of crap. And to tell you the truth, I have a bad feeling that this new service set will only confirm that stereotype.

    --
    Just need one more referral for a
  3. 1992 Called... by 1992+Called · · Score: 5, Funny

    They want their crappy ISP back.

    --
    Trolling the trolls who troll the trolls since '92
  4. also overheard at AOL..... by perigee369 · · Score: 3, Funny

    " All your RSS are belong to us..."

  5. Hey AOL by all+yr+bass+r+belong · · Score: 5, Funny

    All your user base are belong to us.

    -- The rest of the Internet's ISPs

  6. Oh great.. by slummy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sounds to me like a bait 'n switch. If they're going to offer these free services, rest assured they're going to try and pound a subscription up your ass every step of the way.

  7. Canceling their service... by coop0030 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Maybe if they didn't make it a bitch to cancel the service, we wouldn't be afraid to try them out again.

    Seriously, after canceling from them (I tried it for free for a month); I will never, ever, ever sign up with any of their services ever again.

    They like to put you on hold, and then keep offering discounts, and finally they will cancel your account...if your nice to them...after about 25 minutes of bantering back and forth.

    That is what ruined it for me. The free CD's don't even bother me.

    1. Re:Canceling their service... by sTalking_Goat · · Score: 4, Funny
      Back 96 when I would use one free trial cancel it just before it was up and start another I had this down to an art.I could get a cencellation put through in about ten minutes.

      I had free internet service for about 8 months until they caught up to me and threatened to sue. We settled on a lifetime ban.

      Looks like I'll outlive them.

      HaHa!

      --

      My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle...

  8. Re:I don't know... by chris09876 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I predicted about 10 years ago that AOL would die, and they're still alive (struggling, but still kicking). I still think that the demise of AOL is coming (and long overdue), but they seem to find new ways to stay alive (becoming part of Time Warner, etc).

    I would also be surprised if they could pull something like this off... the internet portal market is already quite crowded. I just don't see room for another yahoo-type service

    --
    I store my recipes online (the way nature intended)
  9. Free != Good Service by mislam · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I am sorry to say this but just because all the services that they are now happily giving away will NOT make them a better service provider. If they could not provide good service to customers who paid 23.95/month how can anyone expect that the free users will get a better service?

  10. MSN's RSS Endeavor by Carnage4Life · · Score: 4, Informative
    The article links to the wrong URL for MSN's experimental RSS reader. The right URL is http://www.start.com/myw3b/ and it works just fine in Firefox as well as IE.

    If you are interested in the developments of the RSS reader you can check out some of the blogs by the folks working on the reader such as Steve Rider and Sanaz Ahari.

    Disclaimer: I work at MSN
  11. Yes and No by Gruneun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A few years ago, I'm sure plenty of people told the Google guys that they were a few years too late for making a search engine.

    AOL's problem is the Internet-for-beginners stigma that's attached to their name. My bet is the better move would be to dump their millions into a new brand, push their current user base towards it, and hope the non-AOL users will underestimate the connection.

  12. Re:"I work at MSN" by H_Fisher · · Score: 4, Funny

    Disclaimer: I work at MSN

    Son, you'd best get outta town. Them men over there wit' th' penguins on their jackets just drew a bunch of guns.

    Slashdottersville: Where The Good Guys Wear Red Hats

  13. Why is it taking AOL so long to do this? by theurge14 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    When Time Warner and AOL merged, the word was that AOL was going to become a media mega-empire of the Internet, that we would see all these exclusive and great media services streamed from AOL. You know, wild ideas like watching TV on the Internet and having the ability to send fullscreen video emails to your grandparents with no hassle.

    Instead, we have TiVO and Skype and Windows Media Center and the saddest part of it all is AOL is losing out to broadband. Wouldn't that get the IRONIC tag on Fark?