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New Media News Every Morning

AOL goes for CNBC as content provider for AOL Money & Finance video site

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AOL announced that CNBC will provide multi-media content to the newly launched AOL Money & Finance video site and across the AOL Money & Finance site. CNBC will offer business analysis and actionable investor information throughout the day for AOL users.

The AOL Money & Finance video site is powered by Truveo’s video search, and also includes videos from a growing list of content partners. Users can also access CNBC content through AOL Video, as well as AOL’s video search destination, Truveo.com, and browse among relevant financial topics to watch what they want on demand.

As a result of the relationship, advertisers will now have the ability to reach a unique audience of business decision makers across CNBC TV, CNBC.com and AOL as part of a single campaign.

Originally posted on May 20, 2008 @ 12:35 pm

AOL completes Bebo acquisition; Announces new AOL People Business Unit

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AOL has completed its acquisition of Bebo, a global social media network that will form the centerpiece of AOL’s newly created People Networks business unit. Bebo’s CEO Joanna Shields will serve as Executive Vice President of AOL and President of People Networks, which combines Bebo, AIM, ICQ and AOL’s other community platforms and reaches about 80 million users worldwide.

One of the first initiatives for People Networks will be to integrate AOL’s other community applications and tools, including IM, chat and mail functionality into Bebo. It will also let users merge AIM and Bebo profiles so they can use common screen names without re-registering. AIM is the leading instant messaging network in the U.S., with more than 30 million users. ICQ has 28 million active users worldwide.

In addition, People Networks will integrate other recent AOL acquisitions, including widget technology company Goowy Media and social search question and answer service Yedda. Integration plans also include the cross-distribution of AOL and Bebo content and applications to expand the scale of the combined networks.

Only time will tell if AOL’s March acquisition of Bebo for $850 million in cash is all worth it. It may be true that Bebo will give them the traffic but it would be up to AOL to convert it to revenues.

Originally posted on May 19, 2008 @ 10:48 am

AOL launches online destination for parents

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parentdish.pngAOL announced the launch of ParentDish.com, which is part of AOL Living. AOL’s site features a mix of videos, blog posts and celebrity contributors who provide informative, accessible, focused and personal content written with a “personal touch” for families with kids of all ages and issues they face today. ParentDish is supported by AOL’s advertising network, Platform-A, which will offer both display advertising as well as content-targeted links provided by Quigo.

ParentDish.com will feature regular blog posts from parenting expert Rachel Campos-Duffy, as well as parenting news, health news, polls and photo galleries. The site will be a hybrid blog format that has the power of resources and depth of content from AOL Living, and also features community elements and regular updates, such as a blog. In addition, through AOL’s relationship with Warner Bros. Television Group, ParentDish will also feature promotional content from MomLogic.com, the studio’s online parenting destination.

The AOL Living network, which includes AOL Body, AOL Food, AOL Home and StyleList.com among others, is one of the top three women’s sites in terms of unique visitors.

Originally posted on May 16, 2008 @ 9:59 am

AOL collaborates with leading websites to enhance BlueString service

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bluestring.pngAOL is integrating with Photobucket, Picasa and Webshots to give BlueString users the ability to easily access photo and video assets stored on these sites and use them to share, create and collaborate with friends on multimedia shows within the BlueString application. In addition, an agreement with Eye-Fi will allow users to automatically upload photos from their cameras to their BlueString accounts using wireless networks.

BlueString is an all-in-one online destination that offers users a single location to preserve, access, and create with photos, videos and music for free. Over the next few weeks, separate Photobucket, Picasa Web Albums and Webshots tabs will appear within the BlueString application, and give users immediate access to personal media stored on those sites. Users will be able to easily drag and drop photos and videos from those sites into their BlueString accounts to create multimedia shows, without uploading the files a second time.

Additionally, BlueString will work with Eye-Fi, makers of a wireless memory card for digital cameras. The Eye-Fi Card allows users to wirelessly send photos from their camera to their BlueString accounts, using their home Wi-Fi network.

Originally posted on April 23, 2008 @ 1:15 pm

Yedda Ask & Answer platform launches partner program

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Yedda, a subsidiary of AOL, officially launched its partner program, offering embedded Ask & Answer capabilities for publishers and content sites. The program offers a quick and easy way to help publishers and content sites extend their reach, increase user engagement, and generate incremental revenue. Yedda’s leading Ask & Answer platform has already been deployed by 100 partners and implemented across prominent content channels across the AOL network.

The platform has already been incorporated into prominent AOL programming and content areas, further ensuring that content created on partner sites and AOL properties using the Yedda Ask & Answer features is syndicated throughout the Yedda and AOL network.

Originally posted on April 17, 2008 @ 6:43 pm