Time Warner announced that AOL will Get the Boot From Time Warner by Year-End. Its about time this merger ended.
Time Warner was built on the broadcast television model: passive viewers force-fed advertising and content of TW’s choice. AOL was built on chat, instant messaging and multi-player games: interactive participants in creating a shared social ‘media experience’ online in real time–that’s what Steve Case used to call “building a community”. AOL and Time Warner had nothing in common, save the prospect of generating ‘shareholder value’ from the merger of the century.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment act has the potential to hammer another nail in the coffin of dial-up ISP’s like AOL. More than $4 billion will be spent to subsidize extension of the communications networks into rural America.