AOL initially thought that the repairs would be finished last Thursday, but things took a bit longer, and service was back up Tuesday. Interoperability between the IM clients is up again, and “running smoothly,” according to AOL. Meaning, users can again log into the Google network, and chat with users who are logged into the AIM network. When there was a problem, users would have to log into separate accounts to access both services.

AOL has been planning layoffs of late, with the AIM department taking hits. AIM brings in about $50 million in annual revenue, but costs about half as much to operate. AOL seeks to cut these operating cost dramatically, to about $2 to $3 million a year.

It has been reported that AOL will keep its support staff to maintain existing iterations of AIM, but the chat client software won’t be upgraded again.

AOL said in a blog post it is adding its Lifestream application to AIM allowing users to receive updates from social networking sites including Digg, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube.

AOL is betting its latest move will considerably expand its AIM user base beyond its current total of 17 million users. The move by AOL also backs up Gartner’s prediction that email and social networks will continue to become increasingly tightly integrated.

"The rigid distinction between e-mail and social networks will erode. E-mail will take on many social attributes, such as contact brokering while social networks will develop richer e-mail capabilities," said Matt Cain, research vice president at Gartner.

"While e-mail is already almost fully penetrated in the corporate space, we expect to see steep growth rates for sales of premises- and cloud-based social networking services."
 

Related Articles:

> Is Google Launching a Competitor for Facebook/Twitter?

> Google’s Facebook/Twitter Competitor Could Open Up Big Possibilities

> Reasons to Have a Facebook Page and Ways to Make it Better

Are you concerned with the security of iPhone Push? Tell us.

Developer, Till Schadde discovered the security hole when someone unintentionally received his AIM message. Below you can read his tweet stream where he writes about the iPhone Push flaw and his subsequent testing:

Below is the screenshot, which was mentioned above, which shows his message:

The flaw with the iPhone Push notifications seems to stem from a hack which was done to avoid Apple’s jailbroken iPhone push blocking. So, in other words… if you have a non-jailbroken iPhone, continue to AIM away.

Does this news make you leery to use iPhones Push notifications? Let us know.

AIM version 6.8 arrived alongside details about AIM Money‘s debut. We first discussed AIM Money in March 2008, when AOL revealed the pay per click program.

Though hinted for an April release, the platform opened today to the broader developer community. AOL said there are no fees for developers to participate in AIM Money, which can be included in an Open AIM application by adding a few lines of AIM Money code.

Developers receive payments monthly via PayPal for the revenue brought in through their applications. AOL’s Platform-A handles the advertising side of the business, delivering and assessing ad click activity for AIM Money.

On the AIM client side, the 6.8 version presents new mini applications, available at the bottom of the client interface. These include AOL Games and Notes; AOL Radio, with the addition of 150 CBS radio stations; AIM Call Out; and the option to add or remove applications. The new version of AIM is available for download now.

The latest beta version of AIM, 6.8, includes the new real-time text feature. It has been developed to provide an improved instant messaging experience for those with hearing impairments.

AOL described the updated AIM client as providing a natural flowing IM experience for those opting to use the feature. According to AOL, the National Institutes of Health estimate more than 32 Americans have varying degrees of hearing loss.

In simple terms, the real-time feature displays each letter to the recipient as it is typed by the sender. This simulates the dynamics of a spoken conversation, without one person needing to wait for the other to hit the Send button.

“This is a big win for AOL and the deaf community since the use of real-time text is receiving increased attention as a necessary equivalent to voice communication for consumers with disabilities,” Tom Wlodkowski, AOL Director of Accessibility, said in a statement.

To use the new feature, both people conducting an IM session will need to have the version of AIM with real-time IM available.

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/aim-opens-real-time-im-feature-2008-01/feed 0 http://www.webpronews.com/aol-brightens-up-its-desktop-2007-12 http://www.webpronews.com/aol-brightens-up-its-desktop-2007-12#comments Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:38:43 +0000 WebProNews Staff http://www.webpronews.com/?p=42537 A new version of AOL Desktop bundles tabbed browsing, multiple email account management, and an “App Map” of all open application windows within the environment.

The all in one software package called AOL Desktop claimed it organizes one’s online life. Several useful features aimed toward that goal help the individual on Windows XP or Vista do that.

For those who remember the days when Microsoft feared the Netscape browser would render the desktop a utility of minimal importance, desktop applications like AOL’s hint at what that future would have looked like. Except, of course, that AOL Desktop runs on Windows, so Microsoft’s place on the hardware remains safe.

The App Map reminds us of the Speed Dial feature in the Opera browser. Instead of little pictures of websites, App Map shows thumbnails of the open browser, IM, and email windows currently running.

AIM has been integrated into the desktop, opening with a click of a button in the toolbar. Email and web browsing open the same way.

But the version of AIM in the AOL Desktop isn’t the goodie-filled one I have running as a separate applications. Where’s the status message feature?

In email, AOL’s MapQuest service provides a quick way to place a map or directions into a message. MapQuest has been a high quality service for some time, making its inclusion a welcome one.

AOL Desktop users can access other POP3 email accounts by adding their information to the Mail Settings. Services like Gmail, Verizon, and Comcast offer POP3 access, as do many ISPs.

Installation of AOL Desktop makes Internet Explorer the default browser, and sets AOL Search as the default search engine. As our readers know, search drives advertising, and ads drive revenue.

For web browsing with AOL Desktop, a caching feature called TopSpeed can be enabled to use with AOL Explorer. This web acceleration technology requires the user to login to AOL with a valid screen name.

AOL Desktop’s toolbar has quick links to the multitude of content areas the web services provider freed up after switching from its subscription walled garden to the more open Internet audience-supported model.

Running AOL Desktop, in a way, felt like a return to that model circa 1994, albeit with much prettier graphics and improved features. The software offers an easy all-in-one way to manage one’s experience online, placing the essentials of web, email, and IM in one place.

It’s going to take some work to break people of their ingrained habits of firing up separate applications to do these tasks. That would be AOL’s real accomplishment with Desktop.

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While Google says it’s working on making the feature available for more browsers, AIM through Gmail is only compatible with Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.

Internet access is often easier and cheaper to get through cell phones, and Kai-Fu Lee, the president of Google China, told Reuters, “These mobile users have very different usage patterns from the American users.  Most Chinese users who touch mobile Internet will have no PC at all.”

A more cynical person might interpret that comment as an excuse – Google China hasn’t exactly delivered results that Sergey, Larry, and Eric Schmidt can be proud of.  But Lee appears to have been merely stating facts, as he also added, “China has a large mobile opportunity, with so many mobile users who will become mobile Internet users in the next few years as 3G and other technologies become pervasive . . . .  That requires thinking from ground zero on how to design products that fit their needs.”

Lee had little – or, more accurately, nothing – else to say in regards to timelines or product specs, but it looks like this’ll be one more way in which Google tries to get a toehold in China.  If it’s successful, Google’s mobile efforts in America might well follow suit.

• Unofficialseoblog
• Coverage by other SEM communities
• Images

Below is an alphabetical index of our coverage:

• A Marketer’s Guide to Social Bookmarking & Tagging
• Effectively Leveraging Social networking
• Evangelist – The Marketer’s Role in SMM
  
• Extra! Extra! The Social News Sites
  
• Keynote Q&A: Joshua Schachter of del.icio.us & Garrett Camp of StumbleUpon
• Linkbait – Chumming for Traffic on Social Media Sites
• Micro Communities
• Social Media Marketing Essentials
• Wikipedia, Yahoo Answers & Answer Sharing

Coverage by other SEM communities:

• Affiliate Tip
• Aim Clear Blog
• Alt Search Engines
• Bruce Clay
• Search Engine Land
• SEO Round Table
• Search Engine Journal
• Search Marketing Gurus
• Square Oak
• Tamar.com
• Tannerhobin.com
• Top Rank Blog
• WebProNews

Images:

• Top Rank Blog

• Dennis Goedegebuure


• Hilarious pictures of Mr. Moderator

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With content that you freely distribute you are primarily trying to build relationships with people who don’t know you and have never bought from you. Since attention is limited you have to make your content accessible to gain market attention.

Highbrow = Low Readership

Most potential buyers can not distinguish between great information and average information, but most people…

• can distinguish between well formatted information that is easy to read and information that appears too complex Formatting plays a big roll in selling content.
• follow the crowd and look for signs of trust from others (recommendations, on site comments, etc.)
• care about enthusiasm and topic selection (why read a site that is not unique and/or too negative?)

Some of My Errors

One of my biggest problems from a conversion standpoint is that I often write copy that does not sell…content that speaks well to some, but not to the buying market. Many posts exhibit the following traits:

• are focused on big picture ideas and broader market relationships
• are seen as being negative for being too blunt & honest
• offer too much information for people to get through
• try to convey too many different ideas

People want to feel the comfort and accessibility of reading a for dummies guide one page at a time while being told they are becoming gurus / experts in the process. Which creates an interesting problem for anyone trying to sell how to information. Do you aim to make it as accessible as possible? Or do you aim further along the learning cycle and write at a higher level?

Where to Aim if You Are Looking for Profit

There are more people at the bottom of the pyramid, and if you capture their attention that will likely make you considered an expert to most outsiders looking to your field. As the online experience improves hobbiests use the web much more frequently. Yahoo! and MediaVest have done research about hobbyists, calling them Passionistas:

Passionistas heavily engage with communities of like-minded consumers who use email, text messaging, and instant messaging significantly more than typical users, and are more likely to create and share user-generated content online such as photos, blog posts or videos about their passions.

Because of their intense engagement around sharing information, Passionistas are 52% more likely than typical users to recommend or influence others about brands aligning with them.

In the SEO market (and probably most business related markets) it seems passionate hobbyists new to a field are much more likely to exuberantly promote brands than those who have been in the field for a great deal of time. I am not sure how well that translates to other fields though.

How Can I Use This Post to Help Market My Site?

Become a Platform for Passion

If top rated competing sites lack passion you can own your market in well under a year. If they are passionate then to stay competitive you have to raise your game and become a platform for passion.

Microsoft recently held a search event for SEOs to show they are serious about search. Google gives passionate charities free services to promote YouTube and Google Checkout. Cater to the passionate and create purpose driven media – use the same marketing techniques that Microsoft and Google use.

Make Your Site Look Alive

You can always add interactive features to build community interest. When you do so people are more likely to participate (fueling more people to participate) and they are more likely to market your site because they feel a sense of ownership.

My designer place the recent comments and this week top 5 sections on this site before I ever saw it. And I love it because it gives the sense that the site is dynamic, alive, and active. If you receive awards or have many feed subscribers publishing those signs of validation help improve your credibility and bring in new visitors.

Virtual Demand is Becoming Real Demand

Amazon tapped some of their top reviewers to review transcripts for a book publishing contest. How long until publishers are no longer required? You can look at the success of shows like American Idol to see how much people want to be engaged with what they consume. Also look to the stats about how often passionate hobbyists turn to the web to fulfill their wants. Deep profit margins exist in deep pools of passion.

Eventually consumers will go from hell to create the markets THEY want. The businesses with passionate communities will grow while the remaining businesses go to hell. Look for new ways to track demand and get feedback to create what people want. You don’t even need a product off the start…just an audience willing to give you honest feedback.

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