When many of today's MySpace and YouTube users were still in diapers, another company dominated the internet:  AOL.  In fact, at one time the words "internet" and "aol" seemed almost synonymous.  But times sure have changed.  Today, AOL is a unit of Time Warner that gets more press coverage for its numerous layoffs, firings, and resignations than it does for any services that it offers.  And its online access service, which is still unrivaled in terms of sheer numbers, continues to lose customers and money.

In an attempt to get the company turned around, Time Warner recently hired Randy Falco away from NBC Universal to take over as AOL CEO.  According to C|Net News.com, Falco has his sights set on the long-term future of AOL.

The first thing the new CEO did was reorganize the management structure of AOL.  Time will tell if the changes have any effect.  AOL is used to management reorganizations but the previous changes haven't done much to help the company's fortunes.  Falco's new approach will focus on attracting new users, keeping them at AOL's site longer, and increasing advertising revenues.  In addition, he wants to build a culture within AOL that benefits employees.  Falco sees his hiring as a clear sign that Time Warner is in no way interested in selling AOL, a rumor that has circulated for years.

It will be interesting to see what Falco can do with AOL.  If he's a long-haul kind of guy the decision to put him in charge was probably a good move by Time Warner.  While I doubt AOL will ever resurface as the internet powerhouse it once was, it has the user base and potential resources to gain back some of its lost glory.