Client AOL is on the verge of getting it on.  Seriously rock hard - change the world - take it to the man (even though they ARE the man) - getting it on. [Think of Funkadelic.]

How do you create disruption, upsurge and change within a stodgy old company?  Get everyone singing from the same hymn book.  Get strong decisive leadership that can stand the heat and make change.

Turn an incredibly successful rival into your rallying charge, and stay focused on a multi-stage rollout plan.  If you got the resources, the where withall and compunction - even lumbering dinosaurs can come awake.

We saw that happen with Microsoft and Netscape. Finally Microsoft had a competitor they could get motivated about.  Up until then - no one could equal them.  Google is doing that now - as well.  And Google got Yahoo pissed off and motivated as well.  Their open doctrine has percolated throughout the rganization - and its starting to show.

So no one should be surprised about AOL.  It started last summer with the Live8 promotion and has methodically been growing - through the Xdrive and WeblogsInc acquisition, announcement of In2TV, open APIs for AIM and now - soon - SocioAIMnetSterSpacePagesMediaNow (or whatever its called.)

Now you didn’t hear it from me - but Microsoft has already talked about empowering each of their MSN Messenger ‘buddies’ as social network ‘friends’ - and who do you think they got this idea from?  Apple? Do you really think Microsoft thought that up all by themselves?

Who has the largest, strongest IM network?

Who invented the notion of large scale on-line communities?

Who’s been incubating startups in Greenhouses - since the birth of the web?

So don’t be surprised about rumors. This thing is too big to hold back.  Come beginning of May - watch out MySpace. There’s a new sherriff in town and it ain’t Microsoft.  Or Cyworld. 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 19th, 2006 at 11:23 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.