What happens when AOL finally decides to go private?

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/09/what-happens-when-aol-finally-decides-to-go-private/244426/

by nbj914 • 15 years ago

13 6 15 years ago

nbj914• 15 years ago

What are the other interesting parts of AOL that could get sold off as pieces?

billybob• 15 years ago

"Google could pick up AOL Mail and AIM, maybe MapQuest, incorporating them into existing assets. Microsoft might even put in a bid."

Really? Why on earth would Google want AOL Mail? I can't imagine that they want the code, and the users don't sound attractive, either.

"We've built the best, fastest, smartest, most customizable web mail service on the planet. Now where can we get some users who haven't bothered to move off dial-up? They probably won't send all-caps emails to our support people or anything, right?"

suking• 15 years ago

AOL Mail users would probably be clicking on AdWords ads like crazy...

sp332• 15 years ago

There are only a few thousand dial-up users left on AOL. I know it's hard to imagine, but there are a lot of people with high-speed broadband connections who download the AOL software for the email and web browser. shudder

ansy• 15 years ago

AOL Mail, AIM, MapQuest and other odd services seem like a good fit for IAC [1]. Really, IAC might be able to buy the whole lot and rebrand itself as the new AOL. Barry Diller seems to have figured out how to efficiently run a hodgepodge of unrelated internet content providers and services as unglamorous as Ask.com and Match.com while AOL has failed with arguably better properties.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAC_(company)

dethstarr• 15 years ago

AOL is so irrelevant, I can't believe that they still are in business.

What happens when AOL finally decides to go private?

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