An AOL spokesman agrees. "The entire focus of our company has shifted to provide a range of services, to include an all-inclusive software client to very granular 'long-tail' experiences for users who want to have a more discrete experience," says Andrew Weinstein. It's important to AOL's viability, he notes, to continue to promote its simple approach and not alienate its traditional customers. By providing open APIs for products such as AIM and Mapquest, AOL hopes it can attract developers who will take those offerings even farther, making them even easier to use for AOL's core audience.
"Ease of use is in our DNA," Weinstein says. "AOL applications are not designed for technologists, but technologists designed them We are focused on building great products, making them available to everyone and making tools available to developers. When you do that, word gets out."
As Lydon notes, it's a process that is going to take a while to gain traction. Further, the commitment has to be genuine, he warns, or else the backlash in the community could be fierce. But if AOL lives up to its commitment to be a true partner with the developers, Lydon believes that it will be "very powerful to get buzz going, to be virally in that community."
Will Work For Free
So what are AOL's chances? "AOL was known to offer a kind of 'Internet Lite'" notes Betterly. "But is that even wanted now? There's no more so-called 'walled garden,' but who will turn to AOL for content when there are so many other well-established brands to choose from? What compelling reasons must AOL give potential customers for switching?"
AOL contends that there is plenty worth coming over for: video services, music, and -- perhaps central to its existence -- communities. For example, Weinstein points to AIM Pages, a new social networking site in which users design and personalize their own pages, as the foundation for what AOL terms a "next-generation community offering."
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Crucial to AOL's success are those 100 million unique visitors that Miller referred to in his statement. Advertisers will only be interested in AOL if there is healthy traffic flowing in and out. And that traffic will only be maintained if they are attracted by AOL's offerings.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
