Jazz Odyssey

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Business Week reports that AOL is creating a social networking platform based on the populer AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) service. AIMspace (which is the codename for the project and not expected to be the official name of the platform) is set to launch in March 2006 and will “blend all manner of AOL content offerings with the user-created content, conversation, and community that define social-networking sites“.

While some are suggesting that this is an AOL “me too” play, I don’t believe that is the case. AOL has several factors working in their favor. First of all, AOL has quite a bit of exclusive music content, having amassed a great deal of audio and video through the AOL Sessions and Broadband Rocks programs which they’ve run for years. Music has been the primary driver in the growth of MySpace. Also, AIM has over 40 million registered users, many of whom use the application every day. This makes it a very different point of entry than a web destination. Finally, AOL has a good history of creating applications that are simple. One can assume that AOL has done their homework, taking the time to study MySpace for all its pros and cons and developing a platform that will appeal to the current MySpace demo. That said, they may also look to offer features that may appeal to an older demo–and AIM isn’t just for kids anymore.

Read the full article here….