Strange days at AOL LLC
On Monday, we will announce to all employees the official name change of the company from America Online, Inc. to AOL LLC.AOL is changing its name from "America Online, Inc." to "AOL LLC" as the final step of its brand transformation that launched in 2005. In addition, AOL is converting from a corporation to a limited liability company as part of its agreement with Google.
Some days I wish I could get my hands on the entire agreement that took place between AOL and Google, if only to grep it for phrases including the word "firstborn."
Much of it was laid out in the AOL Strategic Alliance section of Google's 10-K SEC filing in 2005 (such as hopeful interoperability between their IM services), but there's obviously details floating about on cocktail napkins that weren't. A Netscape Connect agreement which was updated a few minutes ago is the first place I've seen the name change actually happen, but lends credence that it's all really going down.
Posted by drunkenbatmanApril 02, 2006, at 10:47 PM
Comments (14)
Posted by: julian at April 2, 2006 11:43 PM
I agree with Carl, although not about the DRM'd P2P app. If I were them, I'd kill the client, make a new one out of Firefox (which would switch to IE rendering on sites that needed it), integrate the AOL apps (AIM etc) in a smart way (extensions?), and handle *all* the security a windows xp computer with a broadband connection needs (firewall, AV, anti-spyware, updates etc), without requiring the user to have so much as a simple understanding of what happens when they double click an executable.
If it all went to plan, they could be the ISP that techies (if you're reading DB, you're probably one of these people) set their computer illiterate friends up with in an effort to save time fixing stuff later.
Posted by: Chucky at April 2, 2006 11:54 PM
This post is lame because it didn't crash my browser.
Why bother coming here if you're not going to crash my browser?
Posted by: Carl at April 3, 2006 12:15 AM
Julians right about the client side too. AOL needs to think, "Hmm, the number of newbies will inevitably decline over time, whereas the number of gearheads will increase. Therefore, the key to the future is to use our appeal to the first to supply the cash for us to target the second." Apple has figured this out. AOL wants to die.
And I suppose that instead of ads, AOL could just live off of its subscription fees. Make itself into Netflix, only pure digital. The DRM part, however, seems to be a necessary component in order to combat casual piracy. I personally don't have a problem with DRM, just with the removal of DRM being illegal. It's fine for copyright holders to do stuff to hinder us, they can do whatever they want, but what's idiotic is making it illegal for us to use the stuff the way we're legally entitled to if we can figure out how to.
Posted by: Wes at April 3, 2006 01:20 AM
With their Warner Bros. content, they could make themselves relevant overnight. Just take those movies and TV shows, build a custom, DRMed P2P client app, and seed the shows to customers with ads in them.
You mean something like this (In2TV) but downloadable?
Posted by: Jacob at April 3, 2006 01:56 AM
Wait. I don't get it. Aren't LLC's supposed to be small companies? What happens to their shareholders?
Posted by: vastheman at April 3, 2006 02:51 AM
I disagree. Over time, the number of "newbies" will increase. Think about cars. When cars were new technology, you had to know a lot about how they worked to own one. You had to crank start it, change the oil yourself, unclog the spark plugs, adjust the timing belt, dry the distributor, etc. But with my brand new Toyota, I just put petrol it, and take it to a service agent every 10,000km.
The same thing is happening with computers. Back in the day, you had to know how to code to do anything useful. Now most people who call themselves "power uses" can't drive a compiler. As the technology matures, the number of people who truly understand it will decline. Everyone will become a newbie, just like me with my Toyota.
Posted by: Colin Barrett at April 3, 2006 04:04 AM
Is this some kind of day late April Fool's prank? As Jacob pointed out, you don't exactly just "convert" to an LLC. Usually, you go from LLC to Corporation.
This reeks of April Fool's.
Posted by: drunkenbuttfuck at April 3, 2006 05:47 AM
You're still a lame ass.
Posted by: at April 3, 2006 11:02 AM
Not a hoax, it appears he scooped them. (AOL press release.
Posted by: Ben Donley at April 3, 2006 03:59 PM
1. Means it will be (very mildly) harder for AOL to be spun off & made public again. They can't just hand out shares w/o re-doing the LLC or transforming into a corporation.
2. Partnership-like tax advantages.
3. Corporation-like liability protection.
Posted by: George at April 3, 2006 09:50 PM
Is it safe to open this post in Safari?
Posted by: Marina hot girl at April 19, 2006 10:58 AM
The change of the name was a good move, since some customers of the former America online were never located in the north part of the american continent.
Posted by: Scott at April 29, 2006 07:33 AM
And no one's even begun to pick apart "AOL's" new logo campaign... when did the AOL crest get a life of his own?
AOL is such a needlessly train wreck. With their Warner Bros. content, they could make themselves relevant overnight. Just take those movies and TV shows, build a custom, DRMed P2P client app, and seed the shows to customers with ads in them. It would make them totally relevant. But no, they prefer to die slowly.