AOL Blog

Cambio and Billboard Magazine Team Up for the 2013 Billboard Music Awards

Keith Wortman — 2013-05-16T17:06:00+00:00

By Keith Wortman
Posted in: AOL

Cambio is thrilled to announce that they are the exclusive digital partner for the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 19th. The partnership includes turning the traditional red carpet into Cambio's 'blue' for the live pre-awards show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Additionally, Cambio has exclusive access to backstage interviews and drive-bys with the hottest names in music as they present and perform throughout the show.
This activation will be featured on the newly redesigned Cambio site that includes many innovative features such as responsive design, continuous scroll, extra large multi-platform video display and a simplified approach to content delivery, making the site user friendly on all devices.

The "blue" carpet will be live streamed on Cambio and AOL at 6:30pm ET and the backstage live stream kicks off at 8:00pm ET. Don't miss any of the action, click here for Cambio's coverage of the Billboard Music Awards.

AOL Celebrates Our 28th Birthday With the Fourth Monster Help Day

Sara Bennett — 2013-05-16T12:00:00+00:00

By Sara Bennett
Posted in: AOL, Our People, Working at AOL

Beverly Hills office, Operation Gratitude
Monster Help Day is back! Today, AOL is embarking on its fourth Monster Help Day whereby over 2,000 employees will be supporting 54 volunteer projects across 21 offices worldwide. Monster Help Day, which started in honor of AOL's 25th birthday, (we are now 28!) enables employees to step away from their busy working lives and give back to the communities around them.

Employees will engage in a variety of different service activities including Hurricane Sandy Disaster response cleanup, painting wall-sized canvases for hospitals and even reading to elementary school children in underserved schools to promote early literacy. The day of service AOLers are doing will total roughly 10,000 hours of community service.

One of our core values at AOL is that we are in the business of helping people, period. And although AOL employees demonstrate this value each and every day, they take it one step further on Monster Help Day.

The charities are in the communities in which our offices are located, as well as near and dear to our employees' hearts. Visit the Monster Help Day website to learn more about AOL's Monster Help Day and the charities we are working with. AOL celebrates our 28th birthday with the fourth #MonsterHelpDay aol.it/12y0Vss- AOL PR (@AOLPR) May 16, 2013

TechCrunch Goes Back to School

Sophie Rigg — 2013-05-14T09:30:00+00:00

By Sophie Rigg
Posted in: AOL

This past Wednesday, TechCrunch unveiled the online learning destination CrunchU in partnership with online education startup Udemy. Powered by Udemy's online learning platform, CrunchU offers students access to a set of world-class courses, taught by expert instructors, curated by TechCrunch.
The 30 online courses in entrepreneurship, programming and Web design, can tackle ambitious topics like Raising Money for Startups and Startup Hiring while other classes build additional skills like DSLR photography, coding and logo design.

The tech world we live in is always changing, and it takes the latest skills to stay competitive. CrunchU is affordable to keep with Udemy's mission to "democratize education by making top quality content from the world's experts dramatically more affordable for anyone, anywhere." And all CrunchU courses will be 50 percent off between now and May 18th.

To learn more about CrunchU click here. Courses are slated to change each quarter, so stay tuned for new class options.

Cyndi Stivers Joins AOL as Editor-In-Chief of AOL.com

Chris Grosso — 2013-05-09T15:22:00+00:00

By Chris Grosso
Posted in: AOL, Our People, Working at AOL

It's my pleasure to announce that AOL has hired Cyndi Stivers, a decorated journalist and digital media expert, to join our team as Editor-in-Chief of AOL.com.

In her new role reporting to me, she will drive all editorial and programming across the AOL homepage, all associated apps and syndicated feeds.

She joins us from the Columbia Journalism Review, where she was the Editor-in-Chief. Her award-winning resume prior to that includes senior editorial and management roles with Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Time Out New York, and Premiere.

There were many characteristics that cemented Cyndi as our top choice including her programming vision, a strong creative track record, and a knack for mentoring editorial talent.

As we evolve AOL.com as a content destination, we will look to Cyndi to ensure the site showcases the most compelling stories relevant to our viewers and drive a distinctive editorial voice. We'll also be relying on her creativity to help us ignite our live programming and add more opportunities for visitors to engage with each other around our content.

Susan Lyne, CEO of AOL's Brand Group, has worked with Cyndi twice before. In her words: "I know first hand that Cyndi will bring world-class editorial leadership and creative thinking to this role with AOL.com. Our entire stable of brands will benefit from her management of the homepage's reach to help drive network wide events to showcase everything AOL has to offer."

"Adding a talent like Cyndi to the AOL.com team is an exciting moment for our brand," says Francis Lobo, President of AOL Services Group. "Her expertise will ensure we continue to provide compelling content and experiences to the millions of people that enjoy AOL.com."

Cyndi will start in early June- please join me in welcoming Cyndi to the AOL family. Cyndi Stivers (@cyndi497) joins @aol as Editor-in-Chief of AOL.com aol.it/11WaaRd- AOL PR (@AOLPR) May 9, 2013

AOL To Be The First Digital Media Company To Certify Its Sales Team Through The IAB

Marta Martinez — 2013-05-09T10:30:00+00:00

By Marta Martinez
Posted in: Advertising, AOL Services, AOL, Working at AOL

Earlier this year, AOL was named one of only two companies who received the IAB Award for Overall Sales Excellence recognizing our commitment to provide clients with the best customer service, knowledge and innovation. To raise the bar in the industry, AOL is set to become the first large-scale digital media company to certify its sales team in partnership with the IAB. Joining their Digital Media Sales Certification program will allow AOL sellers to excel as industry leaders.
IAB's Digital Media Sales Certification program, established in 2012, is the first-ever educational standard for digital media sales teams, creating a professional benchmark for the digital advertising field. The program is created by and for industry experts and AOL will benefit by ensuring they have the most knowledgeable sales teams possible.

The certification knowledge areas include: Comprehending the Digital Advertising Ecosystem Selling Digital Media Managing Digital Advertising Campaigns Analyzing Campaign Performance
This certification is the highest industry credential for digital media sales professionals and it's a badge AOL's sales teams will wear proudly.

Click here to learn more about AOL Advertising.

TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013: Big Apple, Big Ideas

Mandy Albers — 2013-05-02T14:23:00+00:00

By Mandy Albers
Posted in: AOL

Ned Desmond, COO of TechCrunch, and Matt Kaufman, president of CrunchBase (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch) For the fourth year in a row, TechCrunch Disrupt descended on New York, bringing its trademark energy and celebration of innovation to the Manhattan Center. For the past three days - plus the Hackathon that took place over the weekend - the biggest names in tech and most promising new companies convened to discuss new trends and swap knowledge.

The stage was equally vibrant, thanks to sessions with industry leaders like Foursquare's Dennis Crowley, Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures and regular Disrupt speaker and triple-threat, Ashton Kutcher. Plus, TechCrunch launched the CrunchBase Venture Program - a partnership with 11 venture capital firms to turn CrunchBase into a comprehensive, accurate source for information on the portfolio companies of well-known venture capital firms. Eleven firms in total, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and 500 Startups, will track funding updates, staffing changes, launches and acquisitions, all in the name of helping people understand the dynamic world of tech.

Of course, it wouldn't be Disrupt without the signature Startup Battlefield, where companies competed in front of big-name judges like Marissa Mayer, David Tisch and Sam Yagan. After a fierce competition, the winner was Enigma, a Web service that scours more than 100,000 data sources and allows users to dig into publicly available but hard-to-find data.

For more information on TechCrunch Disrupt or to purchase tickets for their next event, click here.

It's On: AOL Readies for Second Digital Content NewFront

Erika Nardini — 2013-04-30T15:00:00+00:00

By Erika Nardini
Posted in: AOL Services, Paid Services, AOL

Three years ago, AOL placed a big bet on video. Through the acquisitions of 5min Media and goviral and significant investments in video, AOL has grown to be the #1 premium curated video network. Our goal is to bridge the gap between TV and digital video - be it quality, reach or measurement.

At this year's NewFront we're looking to the future of video. We will showcase our high-quality original programming slate, unique advertising formats, powerful distribution at scale and industry-leading analytics.

We'll kick things off with our 2013 Summer/Fall original programming lineup that features a variety of content that we're creating across categories like food, sports, fashion, health, autos and more. We're partnering with well-known celebs and influencers on the rise who already have digital audiences, as well as the passion to grow their online footprint. AOL has the scale and data needed to produce great content that we know consumers want to watch.

We'll also announce the launch of Be On - a new branded entertainment platform. As the interest for native advertising continues to grow, we are helping brands become publishers. Brands can be smoothly integrated next to our amazing content. From creation to distribution to measurement. It's a global offering that includes the capabilities that we've been offering through the goviral platform plus even more.

We're bullish on measurement too. To date, there has been no apples-to-apples measurement for buyers to compare TV to digital video. We're ready to change that in a few ways. We've partnered with Nielsen on two different initiatives. The first, announced this morning, is a pilot program that will measure audiences for TV content viewed online. AOL is the only digital partner involved in this effort. The second is a collaboration that will measure the audience viewing AOL's library of over 620K premium videos against traditional TV. The AOL Video Reach (AVR) will provide audience measurement in the language that TV buyers know. Essentially, we'll be able to use comScore to measure ourselves against other web properties, and Nielsen to compare ourselves against TV.

Additionally, for the first time in history, digital inventory will be available in a traditional TV buying system through a partnership that AOL has forged with FreeWheel and Mediaocean. The market (broadcasters) cannot buy digital inventory today because we don't speak the same language. This deal allows broadcast buyers to compare AOL's inventory with TV inventory ... finally an apples to apples comparison.

We're ready to show the media industry that AOL is well-positioned for the merge of the digital and TV worlds as we continue our mission to bridge the gap between the two.

It's On!

AOL Wins Uptime Institute Award For The Second Year Running

Sophie Rigg — 2013-04-18T12:42:00+00:00

By Sophie Rigg
Posted in: AOL

AOL is proud to announce that we will be honored as a winner of the Uptime Institute Server Roundup for our efforts to improve data center efficiency around the globe at the upcoming Uptime Institute Symposium.

For the second year in a row, AOL has won for overall tally of servers removed. We decommissioned 8,253 servers in 2012, which has meant a total savings of almost $3 million from reduced utility costs, maintenance and recovery of asset resale/scrap. Environmental benefits were seen in the reduction of more than 16,000 tons of carbon emissions as well. Last year, AOL removed nearly 10,000 and saved over $5 million.

The annual Uptime Institute Server Roundup contest was introduced in October 2011 to raise awareness about the removal and recycling of comatose and obsolete IT equipment in an effort to reduce data center energy use. Uptime Institute invited companies around the globe to help address and solve this problem by participating in the Uptime Institute Server Roundup and AOL is delighted to be a part of it.

To learn more about AOL's corporate sustainability, click here. .@aol wins @uptimeinstitute Award for the second year in a row! aol.it/115zdRq- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 18, 2013

AOL and Vuguru Present Season 2 of Little Women Big Cars

Sophie Rigg — 2013-04-15T12:20:00+00:00

By Sophie Rigg
Posted in: AOL

Little women, big stars! AOL and Vuguru are excited to announce the highly anticipated premiere of season 2 of "Little Women Big Cars", now showing on AOL On Parenting. Season 1 of the comedy premiered last year and was viewed more than 5.7 million times* and season 2 is shaping up to be even better!

Amy Yasbeck (Wings, Hot in Cleveland), Julie Warner (Crash, Nip/Tuck) and Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Psych) reprise their roles as suburban soccer moms struggling to balance their hectic lives both on and off the field. Anita Barone (The War at Home, Shake it Up!) joins the cast playing Connie, a curvaceous and big-hearted mob wife.

The four moms' divergent parenting styles test their friendship when Rocky puts her daughter on the beauty pageant circuit. Barbara's blossoming relationship with soccer coach A.J. becomes more awkward when their exes, Richard and Doro, start flirting on the soccer field sidelines. Meg stresses when her school finance committee gets audited and things get worse when she discovers that Connie's husband is being unfaithful. The humor unfolds as the friends struggle to manage the chaos of kids and their personal lives.

The second season of "Little Women Big Cars", is presented by Allstate Insurance Company, and also offers a unique integration opportunity for their brand - but you'll have to watch the show to find out what it is.

Watch the "Little Women Big Cars" trailer below, and catch the entire series here.

* AOL Internal Data
.@aol and @vuguru present season 2 of #LittleWomenBigCars! aol.it/10XGHGi- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 15, 2013

AOL Canada Ranked One of the Best Places to Work

Kira Leblanc — 2013-04-11T14:40:00+00:00

By Kira Leblanc
Posted in: AOL, International, Canada, Working at AOL

AOL Canada is proud and honored to have been recognized as one of the Best Workplaces in Canada, ranking fourth on this year's list.

This list of "Best Workplaces in Canada" is compiled by Great Place to Work(R) Institute Canada. The competition process is based on two criteria: two-thirds of the total score comes from a survey completed by a random selection of employees, along with their open-ended comments about their organization; the remaining one-third of the score comes from an in-depth review of the organization's culture, including an evaluation of HR policies and procedures. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture.

This award just helps to validate our approach to the workspace. We are dedicated to encouraging a positive work environment with initiatives such as work benefits, health and fitness programs, charity work and educational opportunities. With a dedicated leadership team led by Graham Moysey, general manager of AOL Canada and SVP of AOL Global O&O, we embrace a transparent strategy that includes all employees as thought leaders and contributors.

We're especially excited to win this award in the midst of huge growth over the past three years, - we now have offices in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

Join us! To see if there is an AOL opportunity out there for you, visit our Careers site. Big congrats to @aolca for being named one of the best places to work in Canada! aol.it/120k3Qb- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 11, 2013

PepsiCo's Peter Land Joins AOL To Lead Corporate Communications

Tim Armstrong — 2013-04-11T09:20:00+00:00

By Tim Armstrong
Posted in: AOL, Our People

Today I'm pleased to share that we have appointed Peter Land as Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications. In this role Peter will develop and oversee AOL's global external and internal corporate communications strategies and work with AOL's brands to drive their respective communications efforts. He'll also work in concert with our investor relations, government affairs and public policy groups. As a member of the company's leadership team, Peter will be based in New York and report to me.

With more than 25 years of senior level communications experience working for several of the world's leading media companies and brands, Peter's ability to navigate the dynamic media and digital environments, develop and manage teams worldwide and work strategically and effectively in both the consumer marketing and corporate reputation arenas will make him a critically important member of our leadership team. He has managed multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder efforts on a global stage, which will become more and more important to AOL as we continue to grow.

Peter joins AOL from PepsiCo, where he served in a number of senior leadership roles - most recently overseeing global media strategy, financial communications and issues management. He joined PepsiCo in 2009 to oversee communications for the PepsiCo America Beverages division and manage the company's corporate digital strategy. Before joining PepsiCo, he was a global managing director of Edelman. He was Director of Marketing Communications for the NBA and worked for Kraft Foods in London as Director of European Promotions. He began his career as a sportswriter for the Washington Post and earned a B.A. from Duke University. He is an adjunct professor at NYU's Stern School of Business. PepsiCo's Peter Land joins @aol to lead Corporate Communications aol.it/11YVCma- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 11, 2013

AOL Earns 6 Nominations, 15 Honorees for Webby Awards

Sophie Rigg — 2013-04-10T11:23:00+00:00

By Sophie Rigg

We're thrilled to announce that AOL has just received 6 nominations and 15 honorees for this year's 17th Annual Webby Awards. The Webby Awards is the leading international awards honoring excellence on the Internet including websites interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile voted by the public.
The nominations were announced yesterday and the Webby People's Voice Award poll is now open for fans to vote for their winner until Thursday April 25th.

AOL's 2013 nominees include:

Mobile & Apps:
News (Tablet & All Other Devices) - TechCrunch
Online Film and Video: News & Information (Channel) - HuffPost Live Technology - The Engadget Show
Web: News The Huffington Post Media Streaming - HuffPost Live Religion & Spirituality - HuffPost Religion
AOL's Honorees include:

Online Film & Video: How-To & DIY - Daily Finance and GMC Trade Secrets
Mobile & Apps: Best Use of Mobile Video - Clucks by AOL News (Handheld Devices) - Engadget Distro News (Tablet & All Other Devices) - Huffpost Live app News & Politics: Series - Home of the Brave on AOL Onand HuffPost Live
Web: Real Estate - AOL Real Estate Games - Games.com Employment - AOL Jobs Blog- Political - HuffPost Politics Family/Parenting - HuffPost Parents Celebrity/Fan - HuffPost Celebrity Blog - Cultural - Huffington Post Divorce Consumer Electronics - Engadget
Last year, AOL garnered five nominations and 13 honorees for the Webby Awards winning the People's Voice award for HuffPost Business in the Blog - Business category. This year's winners will be honored in New York on May 22nd but you can show your love for our AOL brands by voting now, here. .@aol earns 6 nominations, 15 honorees for @thewebbyawards! aol.it/10LZHHs- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 10, 2013

Join AOL's One Day Without Shoes Barefoot Challenge

Joey Blumenfeld — 2013-04-09T12:00:00+00:00

By Joey Blumenfeld
Posted in: AOL, Working at AOL

Millions around the world grow up without owning a pair of shoes and are subjected to life-threatening diseases and infections. For the third year in a row, AOL is proud to support TOMS One Day Without Shoes, a day to raise awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child's life by taking off our own.

On Tuesday April 16th, AOLers will join people across the globe by taking off their shoes and going barefoot to help initiate conversations on this issue. Founder and Chief Shoe-Giver of TOMS, Blake Mycoskie, truly believes that the curiosity of going barefoot leads to conversation, which leads to action, which ultimately leads to change.

We've helped spread the One Day Without Shoes message to millions - and now you can also take action by pledging to go barefoot on April 16th and you could even win a $500 TOMS gift card! Enter to win on our Facebook Page. The more bare feet there are, the bigger the footprint so join the movement.

Tweet your support: Click here to tweet now! Join @aol for @toms One Day #WithoutShoes Barefoot Challenge! aol.it/10JMzml- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 9, 2013

A Look Behind the Curtains at Moviefone with Editor Tim Hayne

Laura Carlucci — 2013-03-28T15:26:00+00:00

By Laura Carlucci
Posted in: AOL

An avid movie lover from Michigan moves to NYC to pursue his passion for film and assumes an accomplished role at one of the leading websites for all things related to movies. That's just the beginning of the story for Tim Hayne. We recently sat down with the new Moviefone Editor-in-Chief to discuss his life and vision for the site.

Tim Hayne's success didn't happen overnight. He studied film and television at the University of Michigan before moving to NYC where he got the knack for online publishing. "It wasn't long before I knew that entertainment journalism was the field for me," said Hayne. After college, he was an editor at Beliefnet, the world's largest faith andspirituality website; deputy managing editor at Parade.com (PARADE Magazine's website); and managing editor at Wetpaint.com, a leading TV and entertainment site for women 18-34.

When learning about the lead role at Moviefone, Hayne jumped at the opportunity. "This position is the perfect marriage of my two passions: web publishing and movies. When I heard that Moviefone waslooking for an Editor-in-Chief, I knew this was the role for me."

Since assuming the position, Hayne has great expectations and goals for his site. He hopes to continue to engage and entertain viewers with content but to begin to really dig into the concept of movie discovery. "With reviews, roundups, and best-of lists, discovery is in Moviefone's DNA," Hayne explained. Like most companies in the digital sphere, the Editor-In-Chief also recognizes the value in social communication. "We're encouraging an organic method of adding fans and followers, a practice that results in a more loyal, engaged audience. We're currently working on a project that will attract casual moviegoers, diehard genre enthusiasts, and franchise fanatics. A triple threat, " he said.

His enthusiasm for film is as apparent outside of the office as it is inside. Looking back on his all-time favorite movies, Hayne's list includes "Jurassic Park," "Goonies," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Some Like It Hot," "Rebecca," "The Lion King," "Amelie," "Star Wars" (Episodes IV, V, and VI), "Rear Window," "Terminator 2," "Aliens," and "The Shining." Clearly he doesn't hold bias to certain genres or categories. Or even the opinions of Hollywood's award givers: "I'm still upset that Jennifer Lawrence won [the best actress Oscar] (Jessica Chastain's performance was stronger). But, of the movies that won Oscars this year, 'Life of Pi' was my favorite. A stunning movie, and I find it so impressive that Ang Lee could pull off an adaptation of a book that so many said wouldn't translate well to the screen."

It doesn't take much to recognize that Moviefone's new Editor-in-Chief will bring Moviefone to new heights and the Michigan-raised editor is just happy to be able to write about the movies. "I get to write and talk about movies every day. I'm also privileged to work with a team that shares a passion for film, and that kind of dedication is contagious," said Hayne.

To see what Moviefone has been up to since Tim Hayne's been on board, click here.

Channing Tatum. (Now That We've Got Your Attention, Watch the "Whitehouse Down Trailer" Here!)

Laura Carlucci — 2013-03-27T17:37:00+00:00

By Laura Carlucci
Posted in: AOL

Chaos. Explosions. A White House under siege. Channing Tatum. Jamie Foxx. In the brand-new trailer for "White House Down," we get a sense for just how bad that day gets. And we've got an exclusive first look at this summer blockbuster. Tatum plays John Cale, a police officer who takes his daughter on a tour of the White House and finds himself in the precarious position of being the only person who can save the President (Jamie Foxx) from paramilitary invaders. Tough gig! We don't want to spoil the rest of the story, so we suggest you read more about White House Down on Moviefone, or watch the trailer below. Channing Tatum... Now that we've got your attention, watch the #WhitehouseDown trailer from @moviefone here: aol.it/10jamJA- AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 27, 2013

Autoblog Canada Launches French Language Edition, Autoblog Québec

Kira Leblanc — 2013-03-19T07:05:00+00:00

By Kira Leblanc
Posted in: AOL Services, AOL

Good news for gear heads in Québec! AOL Canada just announced the launch of Autoblog Québec, the French language edition of its popular automotive site Autoblog Canada. Autoblog Québec will be led by editor Jean-François Savoie who will combine award-winning content from the international editions of the site, with featured content from key contributors and local journalists from across the province.

With 50 percent of Quebecers (3 million UVs) currently visiting automotive sites, Autoblog Québec will provide a new destination for original automotive news and industry content, car reviews, international auto show coverage and captivating best-in-class photo and video galleries to a highly engaged audience*.

The launch will extend the distinctive and authoritative voice and original content offered by Autoblog Canada to French speaking visitors. The expansion only further supports AOL Canada's commitment to growth for both French language sites and original local content, as Autoblog Québec joins Le Huffington Post Québec in AOL Canada's growing French language portfolio.

For more info on Autoblog, see what it's up to in the U.S: http://www.autoblog.com/

*Source: comScore, Inc., Total Canada, Home and Work, January 2013
**PMB/comScore, 2012 Fall Fusion

AOL's Digital Prophet, David Shing, Interviews Industry's Leaders at SXSW for "Shingerviews"

Laura Carlucci — 2013-03-18T17:40:00+00:00

By Laura Carlucci
Posted in: AOL

David Shing, AOL's digital prophet and brand evangelist, flew out to Austin, TX, for SXSW 2013 to see the latest in film, music and tech. While intrigued by what was happening on the main stages, Shing was also interested in digging into the latest trends in digital. He took to the streets, interviewing leaders from start-ups to iconic American brands. He shares his conversations on the web series, "Shingerviews" on AOL On.
The series features the creative minds and leaders behind Soundcloud, Wired Magazine, Cadillac, Readmill, Obama Campaign, Mondelēz International and more. Watch the playlist below or visit AOL On for more insightful "Shingerviews."

WATCH: @aol's digital prophet, @shingy, interviews industry's leaders at #SXSW for "Shingerviews" aol.it/109kUgs - AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 18, 2013

Who won SXSW Interactive in 2013? (Spoiler alert: No one... and that's a good thing)

Matthew Knell — 2013-03-13T15:17:00+00:00

By Matthew Knell
Posted in: AOL

So, let's review. Fast Company declared Google Glass the "winner" of SXSW Interactive 2013. Sort of. AllThingsD declared that parties- not products or panels- stole the show, adding, they were "where there real work is done". The Wall Street Journal also suggested that the focus is on re-embracing the physical. And, of course, there was Grumpy Cat. So, who won overall? In my opinion, none of them. The reality is that SXSW, this year, as every year, is really what visitors make out of it. Veterans of SXSW (this year was my third), learn quickly, and painfully that there is no possible way to consume and interact with everything available - or even a majority of it. This is partly because there are so many options and partly because the panel / discussion / dinner / party you really wanted to go to was full 30 minutes before starting. So rather than trying to pick a winner, I'll focus on a series of themes that stood out during my days in Texas:
(The MakerBot: Replicator 2 and products made with Autodesk iPad app. / Photo: MakerBot) 3D Printing made even simpler... and the issues that go along with it - Makerbot announced new digitizer product that allows ordinary people to scan objects and print them with little to no design experience. Ping Fu of 3D Systems unveiled the first mobile 3D printer at her panel Digital Reality: Life in Two Worlds while wearing 3D printed shoes What about printing things like... guns? Yes, that is one possibility, and according to Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed, an organization that he founded to foster distribution of 3D designs, they aren't going away. Clearly, making 3D printing simple will open up countless use cases, good and bad, but the turning point of "print your own anything" may have just happened right here. (Photo: Matthew Knell)
Brands as incubators - the Nike+ FuelBand has inspired a whole new way of thinking for marketers - offering products and solutions that extend your brand through making your consumer's lives easier. In this regard, Target's retail accelerator, in partnership with Fast Company's Co. Labs, is challenging developers to build innovative mobile apps to improve the retail experience for a $75,000 prize. Target will offer API access to their retail data, and will work with finalists to make sure their solutions fit the target brand. These sorts of partnerships will become more common as brands, looking to be more nimble step outside their own walls for fresh inspiration, and developers look for more interesting data sets to play with and problems to solve. (The Samsung TecTile Wall /Photo: Matthew Knell) Touchless tech... the next big thing? - Using Near Field Communication (NFC), Samsung allowed you to pay for a pedicab ride, or get a free cupcake or ice cream just by waving your NFC-enabled phone at tags (Samsung calls them TecTiles) all over the city of Austin. Samsung had no shame in flaunting one of its biggest product advantages over Apple devices, and put it to good use in trying to meet Maslow's hierarchy of needs for conference goers. (#sxswRTM Panel: L to R: Bonin Bough, Mondelez International; Gary Vaynerchuk, VaynerMedia; Steve Doan, Oreo; David Berkowitz, 360i; Albert Chou, Expion; David Teicher, Associate Editor, Ad Age / Photo: @stevehall)
Real-time marketing is challenging - The challenge to replicate the Oreo Super Bowl moment has driven marketers to rethink how they create social content. A spirited exchange on a Expion sponsored panel, called "The Power of Microcontent and Marketing in the Moment" featuring some of digital's biggest thinkers, showed the ink isn't even dry on the right ways to do "real-time marketing." Its success and failure depends on having the right brand and team to make it happen. (Grumpy cat greets her fans! / Photo: Matthew Knell)
IRL matters - The appearance of Grumpy Cat at Mashable House illustrated what makes SXSW best, the limited opportunity for people to crossover from Internet to real-life, to meet each other, put faces to Twitter avatars, and above all, cheer for a cat who stole the Internet's heart.
Adding one more entry into the chorus of voices sharing their perspective on SXSW has allowed me to better absorb what matters to me through the noise. While many have declared the festival "over" or "a thing of the past", I still find the experience unique enough to where I'd recommend trying to go yourself if you've never been. The real winner in this sweepstakes is you. Who won #SXSW Interactive in 2013? (Spoiler alert: No one.. and that's a good thing) aol.it/ZLoltF - AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 13, 2013

AOL Wins Four Digiday Awards!

Kristin Ciccone — 2013-03-13T13:00:00+00:00

By Kristin Ciccone

(Accepting the awards: Emily Tanczyn and Daryn Strauss for MAKERS; Alex George for Moviefone, and Brian Sirgutz for HuffPost Impact)
We're happy to share that AOL topped this year's Digiday Publishing Awards finalists! AOL and Huffington Post were nominated in eight different categories and, last night, took home four of those awards. The awards honor excellence and breakthrough achievement in digital publishing, branded content and advertising technology. Here are AOL's Digiday award-winners:

o. Best Editorial Achievement by a Publisher: AOL for MAKERS.com
o. Best Use of Video by a Publisher: AOL for MAKERS.com
o. Best Use of Mobile by a Publisher: Moviefone iPhone App
o. Best Branded Content Integration by a Publisher: Huffington Post Media Group for Cisco Impact

Additionally, AOL's TechCrunch was nominated for Best Editorial Achievement by a Publisher, Homepage for Heroes was up for Best Content Marketing Program, the Huffington Post iPad app was a finalist for Best Design and the HuffPost Live iPad app was nominated for Best Use of a iPad/Tablet by a Publisher.

See the full list of Digiday nominees and winners here. Congrats to all of the digital brands that were selected by Digiday, including the amazing AOL brands! .@aol wins four @digiday awards! Congratulations to @makerswomen, @moviefone & @huffingtonpost on their awards! aol.it/ZKQ51k- AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 13, 2013

AOL Ireland: Best Workplaces in Ireland 2013

John Nolan — 2013-03-08T12:20:00+00:00

By John Nolan
Posted in: AOL, Our People, Working at AOL

Marie Goggins, Aengus McClean, Roslynn Williams and Curtis Brown accepting the Best Workplaces in Ireland award for AOL Ireland last night in Dublin AOL Ireland has been named one of the Best Workplaces in Ireland, coming in fourth in the medium-sized category and is the top tech company on the list at the annual Great Place to Work Awards. This prestigious accolade was presented to the AOL Ireland team in Dublin's Burlington Hotel last night. AOL CTO Curtis Brown attended the event, along with Aengus McClean, who heads the AOL Ireland team; Marie Goggins, who's responsible for HR across Europe for AOL, and Roslynn Williams, business adviser to the CTO and the Technologies organization. There are two elements of the Best Workplace ranking: a culture audit and a trust audit in which employee perception of the quality of their workplace relationships is measured with a focus on trust, pride and camaraderie, considered key drivers of all high-performing workplaces. Dublin AOLers were keen to get involved and share their views, with 92% of the site completing the Trust Audit. Commenting on the wonderful achievement by 49 organizations, CEO of the Great Place to Work Institute John Ryan said competition for places on the list was at its highest in 10 years as more organizations had chosen to go through the assessment process, clearly appreciating the business benefits of having a high-performing workplace where employees are seen as having a critical impact. "This is a fantastic achievement particularly given the difficult economic backdrop, proving that if you invest time and effort in developing the right culture in your organization, your people will be your best asset and will be key to your business success." AOL has had an office in Dublin for 16 years and employs more than 160 AOLers. It's located in Heuston South Quarter and focuses on developing global products for AOL Networks, AOL Services and the AOL Brand Group. To see what opportunities are available in Dublin, head to their career site. .@aolireland named one of the best places to work in Ireland 2013 aol.it/Zmx3OP - AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 8, 2013