I am 39. I do not use AOL. (Except on the road as an occasional dialup solution when in Motelville USA) But my mother-in-law uses AOL. Or "the AOL's" as she likes to say. The service has always struck me as exclusively a bit of glue trap for older online surfers. It is all about control. Proprietary content. Safety blanket. Difficult to get out of when you are used to it for accessing the web. So AOL is now trying to at least give the appearance that they are serious about courting the younger online user.
AOL's AIM service has a new "I Am" national campaign by ATTIK to introuduce the new "AIM Triton" application that offers instant messaging, e-mail, SMS text messaging and streaming videos.
The key will be in how the app really performs if it is to penetrate with this moving target of a demgraphic. I would suggest thinking about all the things that make the under 30 set see it as Grandma's IM. Customization and better integration with other AIM apps and online content will be crucial. Think Firefox.
<>Related Reading
IPod deal, in-demand AOL show Diller's no birdbrain (USA Today)
There could be lots of reasons AOL — until
recently considered as frumpy as a Buick LeSabre — is suddenly a hot
mama. AOL pulls in 112 million visitors a month. It operates the
world's biggest instant-messaging community.
But significantly, AOL relaunched in June as a video-heavy portal that draws on parent Time Warner's ability to produce high-level content.
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