Believe it or not, the company that’s best known for facilitating dial-up connections in the early days of the Internet isn’t irrelevant. In fact, for writers, AOL seems to be turning into something of an ally.

Maha Atal wrote this morning, “AOL is getting some good press these days for hiring journalists such as newspaperman Carl Cannon and Walter Shapiro, a veteran of The Washington Post and Time magazine, in an effort to bolster its original content. The effort, praised in media circles for creating a home for experienced writers and producers, is part of a strategy by new CEO Tim Armstrong to revitalize AOL in advance of a planned spinout by corporate parent Time Warner . . .”

And other online entities are following suit. True/Slant has picked up more than a few writers, and it was founded by a former AOLer. The sports blog known as SBNation conforms to the pattern in both respects, too.

Considering how the print industry is doing, these developments are extremely important. Not everyone can earn a living as a blogger, of course, but the more people who are given a shot, the better.

So if you have any old AOL CDs around, don’t treat them as absolute trash. They might just represent a sort of memento of your future employer.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 4:51 pm and is filed under blogging. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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