Certainly Time Warner shareholders did horribly as a result of this year 2000 management decision. They retained some of AOL's earnings and got a tax credit on the write down but that's like saying you lost weight via amputation.
As for AOL present value, 2 million people forgot to stop paying $20 a month for dialup internet. Maybe they really don't want to change email addresses? Anyways, that was making AOL like $400 million a year net (and worth 4 Billion with some other assets as 10x multiple maybe a bit high but not absurd)
@snapster i remember when i cancelled AOL, that was part of their pitch. for $x/month, i could still keep my AOL address. i said, "why would i want to do that". the guy said "so you can still correspond with your family and friends". "can't i do that with any email address?" he didn't have a come back for that one.
@carl669 I've always suspected it would be companies like AOL that would end up being the big losers when other companies, like Target, end up having a massive credit card breach and tons of people cancel existing cards that might be tied to services they forgot about.
@snapster Our internet company sells tractor stuff to people with tractors. We've had a fair amount of folks with AOL email addresses requesting quotes.
@AlohaSnackbar Yeah, I think maybe they are. My husband frequents tractor forums and one guy said "dialup isn't so bad now that hardly anyone is using it."
@dashcloud When asked, he replied "it's their tractor, they should be able to do any fucking thing they want to it." If they do modify it, then the warranty would be voided and if it quit working, the cost of repair would fall onto the owner. Additionally, he just brought upnthe point of modifying
Technically, I thought AOL bought Time Warner. IIRC, the AOL shareholders owned the majority of the new company. In light of the dot com bubble bursting soon thereafter, it was a good move for them. :D
@dashcloud is right, AOL developed an Adsense type product. (A product that shows ads that are more likely you will buy) For example the ad on Meh's site is a high end drone (because of the content of the page) and some cars from an auto dealer I visited a few weeks ago.
FYI- Time Warner didn't sell AOL today. They spun off AOL in 2009.At the time of the merger, AOL was bought for $164 B- at the time of the spinoff, it was worth $2.5B. But you doubled your money if you bought in 2009 and held it to today!
what's an AOL? a misspelled 'LOL'?
I thought they spun it out as a writedown/writeoff ...
Certainly Time Warner shareholders did horribly as a result of this year 2000 management decision. They retained some of AOL's earnings and got a tax credit on the write down but that's like saying you lost weight via amputation.
As for AOL present value, 2 million people forgot to stop paying $20 a month for dialup internet. Maybe they really don't want to change email addresses? Anyways, that was making AOL like $400 million a year net (and worth 4 Billion with some other assets as 10x multiple maybe a bit high but not absurd)
@snapster i remember when i cancelled AOL, that was part of their pitch. for $x/month, i could still keep my AOL address. i said, "why would i want to do that". the guy said "so you can still correspond with your family and friends". "can't i do that with any email address?" he didn't have a come back for that one.
@carl669 heh "oh shit you know of the internet k-thx-bye"
@snapster I bet their three letter domain name is worth at least a few million... :D
@snapster The really sad part is that AOL lets you keep your email address whether you pay for AOL or not. They just don't advertise it.
@carl669 I've always suspected it would be companies like AOL that would end up being the big losers when other companies, like Target, end up having a massive credit card breach and tons of people cancel existing cards that might be tied to services they forgot about.
@snapster @carl669 http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/it-makes-plenty-of-sense-for-some-people-to-subscribe-to-aol/
@snapster I read somewhere that 75% of AOLs revenues are in advertising... I just know I was bummed when they quit sending me feee coasters.
@snapster Our internet company sells tractor stuff to people with tractors. We've had a fair amount of folks with AOL email addresses requesting quotes.
@lisaviolet are you saying they might still be on dialup?
@AlohaSnackbar Yeah, I think maybe they are. My husband frequents tractor forums and one guy said "dialup isn't so bad now that hardly anyone is using it."
@lisaviolet So, what does your husband think of John Deere coming out against people modifying the code and internal workings of their tractors? More details here: http://ifixit.org/blog/7192/john-deere-mess/
@dashcloud When asked, he replied "it's their tractor, they should be able to do any fucking thing they want to it."
If they do modify it, then the warranty would be voided and if it quit working, the cost of repair would fall onto the owner. Additionally, he just brought upnthe point of modifying
touchpad is touchy - the software because of the smog control. And that should be between the owner and the EPA, not John Deere.
http://www.fitritehydraulics.com
@lisaviolet amen. If I want to modify my copy of iTunes or change the IMEI on my phone, I should be allowed to do that.
@lisaviolet Thanks!
Technically, I thought AOL bought Time Warner. IIRC, the AOL shareholders owned the majority of the new company. In light of the dot com bubble bursting soon thereafter, it was a good move for them. :D
@Kevin Besides the AOL service itself, the big attraction is likely the blogs & the advertising- Huffington Post and the blog network AOL has.
@dashcloud is right, AOL developed an Adsense type product. (A product that shows ads that are more likely you will buy) For example the ad on Meh's site is a high end drone (because of the content of the page) and some cars from an auto dealer I visited a few weeks ago.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite people to make some disparaging remarks about Steve Case, .....just because.
The HuffPo better check the list to what they are allowed to report on once the merger completes ;)
http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/28/7086791/verizon-is-scared-of-the-truth
http://www.businessinsider.com/verizon-sugarstring-tech-blog-cole-stryker-net-neutrality-government-surveillance-2015-5
http://www.dailydot.com/politics/verizon-sugarstring-us-surveillance-net-neutrality/
@thismyusername great stuff! corporate drama to come!
FYI- Time Warner didn't sell AOL today. They spun off AOL in 2009.At the time of the merger, AOL was bought for $164 B- at the time of the spinoff, it was worth $2.5B. But you doubled your money if you bought in 2009 and held it to today!