New York -- AOL on Monday introduced the latest online local events site that enables users to search and browse for an extensive range of events in their local area, together with kids and family activities, community events, live performances, sporting events and many others, called When.com, powered by Zvents online events guide.

Both the sites are basically identical except for one element: “Where when.com differentiates is the addition of Kids and Family activities, which we feel is important to our audience,” said AOL spokeswoman Jaymelina Esmele. Zvents handles the categorization, but AOL draws more attention to the family-friendly events.

New York -- AOL.com, the web portal of America Online, on Thursday rolled out a revamped homepage available that it hopes will become a hub of sorts for Internet travelers by letting consumers access multiple social networking services directly from AOL.com, becoming the first major portal to offer direct access to information from major social networking sites, email accounts and more without switching from site to site.

Officials said that this follows the move a month after AOL.com, the number four gateway to the web after Google, MSN and Yahoo, offered access to multiple e-mail services from the AOL.com site, being part of AOL’s continuing approach to open its homepage, to outside services and content -- offering consumers more customization options.

New York -- Ever striving, but still overshadowed by its bigger rivals, IAC Corp.’s Ask.com, the fourth-largest search engine, has a record of coming up with interesting innovations that are often imitated by others in the Internet search business.

Ask.com plans to unveil a new version of its search engine on Monday with several enhancements that seeks’ to make the search experience a lot more similar to asking a question and getting an answer, which it considers significant and believes that it could give its popularity a boost in a market dominated by Google.

Ask.com has sharpened the relevance of its search results, made the engine faster and simplified the site’s layout, said Ask.com President Scott Garrell.

New York -- AOL has launched Digital City, a novel, magazine-style website that aims at entertainment enthusiasts and readers who are interested in “stories from around the world,” the company said. According to a company press release the website derives its name from a very vintage AOL brand, as “a new approach to geo-blogging by displaying original content with a local slant, but global appeal.”

“A new look from lifestyle to entertainment, DigitalCity.com encompasses local trends with a global appeal.”

Ever since AOL altered its subscription service two years back with an ad-based model, the web veteran is now further letting its doors open in an effort to win back some of the customers by introducing a new feature on its revamped homepage that allows users to access multiple email services from third parties.

Dwindling far behind competitors such as Google, Yahoo and, to a smaller degree, Microsoft’s MSN, AOL -- a division of media giant Time Warner has launched a host of new services and content initiatives in a bid to close the gap in the online advertising game.

New York -- It appears that AOL is becoming serious about mobile advertising by sharpening its ad-positioning tools for the iPhone in a nod to the popularity of the Apple smartphones.

The Internet media company on Wednesday announced that it has updated its advertising system, known as Platform-A, the mobile industry’s most strong and comprehensive solution for targeting advertising to iPhone users, so that advertisers can send promotions to people while they are surfing the Web on the iPhone.

The move symbolizes the latest initiative by AOL to expand its mobile ad offerings. Last year Time Warner’s Internet business moved its headquarters to New York to be closer to Madison Avenue, and Platform-A, the division formed in June to bring together AOL’s various advertising businesses under one roof, whose subsidiaries include Baltimore’s Advertising.com, is launching new technology that allows advertisers to specifically target Apple iPhone users worldwide.

AOL Upgrades Flash And Mobile Versions Of AIM

New York - AOL today took the wraps off of two new AIM updates geared toward keeping the mobile user connected, AIM Express 7.0, a new Flash-based Web version of its popular AIM service, enabling users to chat with friends and family without having to install software.

So users can now say goodbye to all previously annoying presumptions on the part of AIM software, as the present Aim Express runs in a pop-up browser window and is intended for computer users who are unwilling or unable to install the regular AIM software.

In a move that aims at strengthening AOL’s stable of social networks, the company on Friday confirmed that it has signed an agreement to acquire Socialthing!, a Boulder-based start-up that helps’ people handle the social networking sites they frequent, into its People Networks division, pending the satisfaction of certain undisclosed closing conditions.

Affirming the news that had first been leaked to TechCrunch two weeks ago, the social network service called SocialThing -- which has yet to emerge from private beta -- but yesterday on their blog founder and CEO Matt Galligan confirms the acquisition. 

In conveying his appreciation to them he says he is thrilled but recognizes that AOL is not exactly what it used to be. None of the financial details have been released.

AOL Reduces Weak Properties, Focuses On Ads

New York - Unable to gain a solid stand in the personal media space, AOL plans to scrape its Bluestring, a site to share videos, music, and photos; Xdrive, a general-purpose online storage service; and AOL Pictures, where people could store and share photos, as the Time Warner unit is putting great effort in its transition from a business model based on subscription fees to one based on advertising revenue, according to a July 14 memo from Kevin Conroy, AOL’s executive vice president of products and marketing.

 “The memo was published Thursday by TechCrunch.”

“Add a tiny photo application to display pictures of your dog on Facebook, and you might find you are really spreading an ad.”

New York -- Time Warner Inc.’s AOL on Wednesday announced the integration of Goowy, a small startup technology it acquired earlier this year from Goowy Media Inc., into its digital advertising arm Platform-A, to help advertisers pitch their products and services at social-networking sites, which have struggled to generate revenue despite heavy traffic.

Widgets are tiny Web-based programs, and widget ads offer more interactive possibilities than conventional ads. Goowy is now part of AOL’s People Networks business and was acquired by AOL in February 2008 to improve its widget push.

New York -- Confronted with an uncertain future and distressing ad business, AOL Health announced content partnerships with a triad of health sites that offers a resource for comprehensive health information for the entire family, the Time Warner subsidiary said Monday.

The new content partners include: Caring.com, which features articles and guidance focusing on how to care for elderly patients; HealthCare.com, provides access to its Care Provider Search, which offers a listings of more than 1.3 million medical and dental professionals across the United States, depending on location, medical specialty, and health insurance plan; and Health.com, the online channel of Time Warner Inc.’s Health magazine, which shares health-related articles, quizzes, image galleries and videos and health tips for patients.

New York -- AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., continues its quest to spread out their network of dedicated sites with new avenues to generate more advertising revenues, on Tuesday launched two new sites -- one geared toward personal money management and the other focused on photography as part of its bid to en-cash on growing advertising opportunities by serving niche audiences.

“The Deal Represents U.S. Introduction of Leading European Ad Serving Technology.”

New York -- Struggling to tap the growing ad revenue, AOL today said that Gannett Co., Inc. has chosen ADTECH as its online digital advertising partner. ADTECH is part of Platform-A, http://www.platform-a.com, AOL’s digital advertising business.

“Ask captures a promising search and ads space with image sharing service Photobucket.”

New York -- High on the turf of a match-up between Getty Images and Yahoo-owned Flickr, IAC/InterActiveCorp.’s Ask.com, a leading search engine, announced that it now powers Photobucket.com, a leading standalone photo and video-sharing site, with its search technology under a new multiyear strategic agreement between the companies, Ask.com said Thursday.

Dailymotion, DoubleClick, AltaVista all appear on resume, too.”

AOL has appointed an ex-Google executive to help head up its Bebo social media network.

AOL’s Bebo considerably appears to be growing a little more powerful in terms of personnel; like Yahoo, Google has now become a target for talent acquisition over the past years, although it is not seizing directly from a certain search giant, the social network’s newest hire acted as an exec at Dailymotion, and some time before that, Google.

San Francisco -- Ask.com, the top Internet search division of IAC, last week finalized an all-cash deal of the previously announced agreement to purchase Lexico Publishing Group LLC, the owner of popular reference sites Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com.

Ask.com, had disclosed the all-cash transaction on May 15, 2008. Financial terms of the deal, which closed Thursday, were not released.

Ask.com said the agreement would increase its monthly audience by around 15 million users to 145 million, an increase of 11 percent.

New York -- Seeking to broaden its online distribution sphere, Scripps Networks on Wednesday announced a partnership with AOL to deliver clips from its collection of leading lifestyle content to online consumers through AOL Video, and selectively throughout AOL Food, AOL Home and Slashfood later this summer, the companies said today.

Highlights from chosen HGTV series will be offered on AOL Video, including Carter Can, Color Splash, Deserving Design, Design on a Dime, House Hunters, I Want That! and Sleep on It.

Ever since the launch of iPhone 2.0 that dragged the Internet to a screeching halt, when the struggling AOL trying to alter its business model ever since its ISP division all but caved in on itself; recently came up with an iPhone application that won the Apple award for “Best Entertainment Application” at this year’s WWDC.

Operating by the name of AOL Radio, the new application enables users to access the radio service through EDGE or Wi-Fi.

New York -- AOL, on Tuesday unveiled a revamped version of its popular online AOL Radio Service, http://radio.aol.com, which touts an upgraded online player with additional functions and expand the service’s reach with a wealth of new radio stations, including 150 local CBS RADIO stations and custom channels plus more than 200 AOL Radio channels. 

“The new AOL Radio lays emphasis on AOL’s ongoing commitment to provide users with the best all encompassing radio experience available,” said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President, AOL. “With over 350 streams, 150 of them from CBS RADIO, AOL Radio is unmatched in breadth of streaming audio content available online.”

AOL Promotes Ad Platform Across Europe

New York - AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc. on Friday announced the extension of its Platform-A Internet advertising service in Europe. The spreading out is part of its plan to extend the reach of its advertising business worldwide by the close of 2009.

The move by the Time Warner Inc. unit comes less than one year after it switched its AOL script in the U.S., shifting roles from being Internet portal to a one-stop Web-based advertising business. The service enables advertisers to make use of the company’s optimization technology and behavioral targeting in combination with Advertising.com’s social media, affiliate marketing, search, video and mobile inventories, according to Lynda Clarizio, president of Platform-A.