Remember when AOL was the “IT Boy” of technology and corporate America?

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were sighing as they heard the AOL version of the Intel jingle – a chirpy pronouncement that You’ve Got Mail. We all watched the “finishing” bar as we loaded ourselves onto the World Wide Web.

AOL was a game changer….they were our source for online news and information, Our e-mail carrier. Our shopping portal. Our Internet North Star.

Then came Google. CNN.com. Amazon.com. Facebook. Twitter.

Like an ex who hasn’t gotten the hint, AOL has trailed behind tech’s new “cool kids” looking for an opportunity to get back into the group. They haven’t gone away, but they haven’t been all that relevant, either.

AOL’s newest bet is on news, with the planned acquisition of the Huffington Post.

Despite lots of celebratory quotes to the contrary, I think AOL and HuffPo make strange bedfellows. The AOL business has been in decline for a decade, in large part because it doesn’t provide anything that is unique or presents a real POV. It aggregates the same content you can find just about everywhere else.

HuffPo, on the contrary, is largely known for its political clout and leanings of Ms. Huffington, and as a platform where citizen journalists can make an impact. It’s like the Amazon.com of content. There is a lot of stuff, but you can tailor it for you.

No doubt this deal will be great for the wallets of the original HuffPo founders and investors. But what about HuffPo’s reputation (and Ms. Huffington’s – known for her clear political POV and voice, which she acknowledges will not be part of her AOL platform/role.) The question of the day – will HuffPo help AOL get its groove back, or will HuffPo’s reputation take a hit as it becomes AOL-ized?

cwinters General Corporate AOL, Arianna Huffington, Facebook, Google, Huffington Post, Internet, Twitter

What can you do with an old brand?

Even new media companies face that dilemma in Twenty Ten – AOL and MySpace, for example. Struggling to stay relevant, both companies are searching for a leg up in the brand wars.

AOL and MySpace both have a similar challenge – recovering from being the eclipsed top dog in their sectors. It’s too easy for many critics to say their time has passed, but with some smart acquisitions, sharpened brand management and a serious socially-responsible corporate outreach program, they could each recapture market share and relevancy.

Generally this involves buying or merging with an up-and-coming company first, and then setting out to freshen the brand with a high-visibility communications/PR project, preferably of the CSR persuasion. Both of those companies could take acquisition lessons from Xerox, which just merged on February 5th with the IT giant ACS. ACS is a terrific growth story, a global company with a 21st-Century business model and reputation for being well-managed and fast-moving. With one fell swoop Xerox made itself newly relevant and cutting-edge, and I’m sure their branding and CSR programs will follow.

Xerox is a known and trusted brand that defines the duplication and printing business – but their name and their image needed a new infusion of immediacy and impact, and ACS gave that to them. AOL and MySpace could do the same with one smart acquisition — and they’re probably looking as we speak.

David Langness can be reached at dlangness@mww.com.

dlangness CSR, General Corporate, Sustainability, Uncategorized AOL, CSR, MySpace, reputation