Accentuate The Positive
One important item to put on AOL's "to-do" list, notes InTouch's Betterly, is to rid itself of its current reputation of being difficult to deal with. "AOL is losing members, and losing the public relations battle," she says. By focusing on what AOL has done well in the past -- serving family needs -- Betterly believes the company can substantially squash its current negative image.
One instance of that is AOL Parental Controls, a free service, which covers Web site screening, report cards for parents, online timer limiting time/amount of access, and pre-approved e-mail/IM lists. In addition, the company is ramping up the KOL Channel for kids and an area called RED for teens.
"Ironically, although you'd think AOL should dump its family mentality in light of its competitors like Yahoo, the key to AOL future branding success vs. Yahoo could be to actually capitalize on its family friendliness alongside targeting the tech-savvy community currently owned by Apple," says Hecht. "AOL's core message should remain true to being family-friendly as perhaps 'the old standby' online service and the originator of online social networking, but the company messaging should certainly refocus the tech-savvy [user on the idea that] that AOL is not a 'walled-garden' or a 'gated community,' but is, rather, a gateway to the new utilitarian Internet."
Will AOL make it? Focusing on its core strengths of community and ease of use, using its video and music capabilities, and then getting the word out to users who realize they can't live without you are enormous tasks. Still, time will tell whether AOL has the stamina to get back on top, or if it will simply run out of gas.
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.
