Wall Street rewards the unexpected.
AOL posted its first quarterly earnings since being spun-off from Time Warner late last year. Total revenue came in at $809.7 million, down from $974.2 million in Q4 2008, a 17% drop.
“We have made significant progress in support of the long-term vision we see in the future of AOL, but today’s results continue to reflect the need for our focus and execution on the work required in the turnaround of the Company,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
The AOL/Google search partnership agreement is ending this year and according to AOL CEO Tim Armstrong the company will be looking for the best possible deal, though Google will get “firsts dibs”, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Initial reports had Armstrong stating the new partnership was open to the highest bidder, but the Wall Street Journal updated their online story to state that Google had “first dibs” – suggesting there was an option in the previous deal with Google.
Microsoft is interested in the partnership to increase its market share and AOL could “get the same economics from a new deal”, Armstrong said according to WJS.com.
Through MapQuest’s relationship with CitySearch, over 700,000 new business listings have been added to the online mapping service. The listings include popular categories such as restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels, shopping, and spas.
In addition to the listings, MapQuest has added greater editorial content for their business listings. Such content includes ratings and reviews, coupons, business hours, and restaurant menus.
MapQuest and CitySearch entered into their partnership in August of 2008.
Nielsen Online has released their search rankings for November 2009. Things remain awesome for Google and Ask.com saw a hop. But Bing gained the most, increasing by an entire percentage point from October. Meanwhile, Yahoo! was down 0.1% and AOL was down 0.2% month-over-month.
November 2009
October 2009
Nielsen Online has released their search rankings for November 2009. Things remain awesome for Google and Ask.com saw a hop. But Bing gained the most, increasing by an entire percentage point from October. Meanwhile, Yahoo! was down 0.1% and AOL was down 0.2% month-over-month.
November 2009
October 2009
Nielsen Online has released their search rankings for November 2009. Things remain awesome for Google and Ask.com saw a hop. But Bing gained the most, increasing by an entire percentage point from October. Meanwhile, Yahoo! was down 0.1% and AOL was down 0.2% month-over-month.
November 2009
October 2009
Google’s had StreetView for awhile and Bing recently introduced Streetside imaging to their maps. Now, MapQuest is entering the ring with their street-level imaging, which they’ve dubbed “360 View.”
360 View isn’t available everywhere, so MapQuest is providing coverage maps, similar to what a wireless communications company might provide to show you where you can get a signal.
MapQuest also took great care in pointing out that you don’t have to download a non-standard media player (cough, cough Silverlight).
Tim Armstrong and AOL employees rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning, to signal the beginning of trading – including AOL stock as an independent company.
Wall Street responded by dropping their shares by a 36 cents.
That’s to be expected when the future of the company is so uncertain. But they’re doing their best to paint a bright picture of what’s to come:
“We have a clear strategy, a focused mission and a firm commitment to delivering value to our shareholders, consumers and partners,” said Armstrong.
Here are the new ones:
- ATM’s (Now Over 72,000!)
- Parks
- Stadium Arenas and Athletic Fields
- Tourist Attractions (Includes 1.5M Locations!)
- Court Houses
- City Hall
- Libraries
MapQuest has also updated existing categories. Those in rural areas – you might find coverage for your area now.
- Rest Areas
- Bus Stations
- Train Stations
- Commuter Rail Stations
- Park and Ride’s
- Ski Resorts
- Wineries (Over 500 To Search!)
- Highway Exits
- Tourist Information Centers
AOL will be going independent in December and they’ve unveiled their new branding. A new minimalist font has been selected, the “o” and the “l” have been lowercased, a hip period has been added. I love closure. Oh – and the company name will be set against an ever-changing image.
Here are six preview images sent to us by the hard workin’ AOL press team (click for a larger view):
They’ve also released an artsy, abstract video demonstrating the change. What does it all mean?!!??!!
