AOL’s been on a roll but in recent days two moves have irked some users — the addition of banner ads to AOL Journals and the insertion of two bots at the top of the AIM buddy list. Both are part of AOL’s aggressive push for advertising revenue but not all users want to take part. Some AOL Journalers have even started a boycott; a simple post on BusinessWeek’s Blogspotting drew dozens of unhappy responses. Tuesday, AOL officially unveils AIM Triton, an all-in-one tool that goes by the slogan “I am everything you need to communicate.” It includes email, IM, text, voice and video — and further extends efforts to use AIM to push AOL services, drive traffic and, as a result, increasing ad views.
The increased emphasis on advertising and traffic on AIM already is paying off for the company, as the Journal reports. Pitching AOL events and services in the square ad space on top of the buddy list helped make AIM the top driver of traffic to AOLMusic.com in Seyember and October. AIM-related ad sales are three times higher than the last year. Meanwhile, AOL is seeking more interoperability with other services.
AIM is straddling a fine line between seeking increased revenues and running the risk that users will turn to competitors — or that new users will skip AIM altogether. The company also has to make up for lost licensing fees now that’s it’s giving away AIM to other sites. The result for users can be cluttered. Too much clutter and you start to ignore it all; I speak from experience as an AIM user. But AOL is looking for even more ways to use AIM as a mini-portal — AIMTV is on tap for next year.
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