AOL in the news…

A lot of folks are asking me why I’m not commenting on all the AOL news bouncing around. I feel like i should give at least some basic background.

First, I’m going to avoid commenting on all the AOL news that is popping up till August 2nd, when TW has announced it will share details about AOL’s future plans. I’m so used to running a transparent company, but I work at a major public company now (not a startup). Because of all the SEC rules and the fact that I’m not in charge, I’m gonna respect everyone’s wishes and just wait for the official announcements to come out.

Now, I’d love to talk about all the amazing things we’re working on, trust me I would–it’s very, very exciting. However, being an open blogger at a big public company–especially when you are involved in the strategy personally–is very hard. Scoble didn’t have to worry about this since he reacted to what he heard and read about Microsoft’s strategy, from what I know he didn’t work on the strategy himself (correct me if I’m wrong here). I wish I could have his gig sometimes. My blogging life has been made even harder since some analysts are reading my blog and including things I say in their research reports (ugh–it’s a blog people!).

So, there you have it… I’ll be holding back from commenting till August. I will blog about my little world(s) at Netscape and Weblogs, Inc. of course.

I will put links to the stories out there for you guys to comment on from time to time as well. Our first story is from the AP saying that we’re poised to give away more free services. I know this sounds like a very silly question, but I’ll ask anyway: do you guys think AOL should provide free Internet services like Google and Yahoo do?