AOL Inc. (previously known as America Online) is an American multinationalmass media corporation based in New York City which develops, grows, and invests in brands and web sites. The company’s business spans digital distribution of content, products, and services, which it offers to consumers, publishers, and advertisers.
AOL was founded in 1985 as Quantum Computer Services, an online services company by Jim Kimsey from the remnants of Control Video Corporation.
Since then, AOL has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or to set up international versions of its services. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York but has many offices in cities throughout North America. Its global offices include Bangalore, India; Dreieich, Germany; Dublin, Ireland; London, United Kingdom; Tokyo, Japan; and Tel Aviv, Israel. As of April 2014, it serves 2.4 million paid and free domestic (US) subscribers.
AOL is best known for its onlinesoftware suite, also called AOL, which allowed customers to access the world’s largest “walled garden” online community and eventually reach out to the Internet as a whole. At its peak, AOL’s membership was over 126 million members worldwide, most of whom accessed the AOL service through the AOL software suite. AOL was ranked fourth (behind the Web, email, and graphic user interfaces) in a 2007 USA Today retrospective on the 25 events which shaped the first 25 years of the Internet and was named to the “.com 25” by a panel of Silicon Valley influencers on the occasion of the same anniversary.
In 2000, AOL purchased Time Warner, the deal structured as a merger under the name AOL Time Warner. The merger was not fruitful and on May 28, 2009, Time Warner announced it would spin off AOL into a separate public company. The spinoff occurred on December 9, 2009, ending the eight-year relationship between the two companies.
Since then, AOL has begun to substantially change its business model reinventing itself as a brand company under the guidance of CEO Tim Armstrong, creating and acquiring a range of content properties. Major acquisitions include the purchase of technology news blog TechCrunch in September 2010, and on February 7, 2011, the purchase of The Huffington Post. Other AOL brands include Moviefone, Engadget, Stylelist, MapQuest and Cambio.
AOL Serves Under 501c3.
AOL Teams Up with the ASPCA to Help At-Risk Animals
AOL leverages the power of the Internet to improve the world around us and benefit those in need. This month, AOL is proud to be going big in support of ASPCA’s “Come to Their Rescue” campaign, an initiative aimed at building a national movement that will help make a difference for millions of homeless animals across the country. The campaign’s PSA, which features spokesperson and singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, calls for animal lovers to become rescuers.
In support of this campaign – with the goal of helping the ASPCA reach its goal of 3 million rescuers, one for every homeless animal euthanized each year – AOL is providing pro bono media support across channels:
- Desktop and mobile PSA banners on our owned and operated channels and with third party publisher inventory,
- Providing video PSA support across AOL’s network, spotlighting Colbie Caillat sparking directly to the viewer,
- AOL owned and operated brands Cambio and StyleList shared editorial coverage following interviews with Colbie,
- On August 15, we’re providing an AOL.com “Make a Difference” module – making ASPCA the featured charity for one full day,
- Social media support for the campaign from AOL channels.
For almost 150 years, the ASPCA has worked tirelessly to end animal cruelty.
AOL is in the business of helping people, period. Now, more than ever, we are committed to using our best-in-class assets and corporate social responsibility initiatives to drive impact in the following ways: Strengthening our local communities, empowering our consumers, supporting our partners, and advocating for internet safety.
Strengthening our Local Communities: AOL makes a difference in our local communities through a combination of our employee-led volunteerism and matching grants programs. Through these efforts, AOL has:
- Deployed over 3,000 employee volunteers in 22 cities across the world to donate 22,000 hours during AOL’s Monster Help Day.
- Donated computer labs to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House of NY.
- Contributed over $198,000 with our Matching Grants program in 2011, which matches employee non-profit contributions up to $250. In total, 464 employees participated in the program, donating money to 384 different non-profit organizations.
