AOL may have served it's purpose. And if they cant re-invent themselves they're in trouble.
AOL is basically the internet with training wheels. Love it or hate it, those damned AOL CD's allowed a lot of people figure out how to get online who would've otherwise been lost in the technobabble of other ISPs and given up before discovering the benefits of the net. I love those users! Many of them are too stupid to find all of the free porn on the net, so they actually pay for it.
But a couple of things have changed. The majority of people who want to be on the net are already here. The influx of fresh meat is slowing. And at the same time improvements in Windows, Mac OS and the software provided by ISPs make it easier to find your way online via MSN, Earthlink, et al.
I've also always questioned their subscriber numbers. The math of 26-30 million subscribers just doesn't add up. I wonder if they're counting screen names instead of accounts.
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