New York — On the heels of last weeks layoffs that left a reported 900 employees without jobs, internet behemoth AOL and the Huffington Post, said that it has tapped Biz Stone, co-founder of white-hot microblogging service Twitter, as a “strategic adviser for social impact,” the company announced on Monday.
Initially, Stone’s function will be to “enhance innovation around social impact and cause-based initiatives,” the company said.
Stone’s main tasks will be to help AOL “develop a platform to facilitate people doing service in their communities and revitalize the company’s charitable efforts, rally other companies to invest in and deploy best corporate practices.” He will also do outreach to motivate other companies to augment their philanthropic efforts, and create a video series spotlighting companies at the forefront of philanthropy and corporate responsibility, AOL said.
Stone will advise the Huffington Post on social impact and cause-based initiatives, and will develop a platform that will help people get involved in charity efforts in their communities.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is now a special adviser to AOL. (Credit: Twitter)
Stone is currently an innovative director at Twitter, where he manages new product development, examine and recommends fresh ideas for the five-year-old start-up, and just generally functions as “the voice of the company and brand.” Stone will join the company as an advisor on volunteer efforts and philanthropy.
He wrote about his new role in a blog post today: AOL is a company undergoing a revival and it has an amazing opportunity to align itself with meaning. “My goal in partnering with AOL and The Huffington Post Media Group is ambitious but vitally important,” Stone said in a statement. “Together we will rally companies to think about new ways of doing business, share best practices, and strive for positive impact at all levels–from global to local.”
Furthermore, he also mentioned that his role at Twitter has not changed. I’m keeping my day job in addition to accepting a role as Social Impact Advisor at AOL. He said that he would not allow his new appointment at AOL to interfere with his duties at Twitter but did not respond to requests for comment on how he plans to juggle the two.
When Arianna and Tim first spoke to me about advising in this capacity, I got a strong sense that they were serious about cause based initiatives. “The definition of success is changing as we begin to understand the value of helping others. Arianna and Tim share my vision for aligning corporate resources toward meaningful change,” Stone said in a statement.
The “30-Day Challenge,” meanwhile will encourage workers to volunteer their time, from the LA Food Bank to New York Cares. Arianna Huffington and Tim Armstrong will teach a class to New York City school children today at Urban Academy of Arts and Letters in Brooklyn, and AOL will donate $50,000 to the Citizen Schools program. The effort leads up to AOL’s “Monster Help Day” on May 20, a company-wide day of service.
According to MediaMemo, Stone would derive equity in AOL as part of his new engagement, but Twitter representatives did not confirm that.
Moreover, Stone also currently advises a handful of organizations that include Japanese business contexts company Digital Garage and DonorsChoose, an education nonprofit. Also he previously worked with the Blogger team, at Google, and before that helped launch social blogging network Xanga.
Despite dismissing almost 1,000 people last week, AOL made some announcements about new hires — 17 in total. Besides, asking Stone for assisting in integrating its new property seems like a smart move for AOL, which has struggled to stay hip and relevant in a field crowded with rapid-fire startups and increasingly innovative ideas.
Those promoted are Howard Fineman, an analyst for NBC and MSNBC, from political editor to editorial director of the group; and adding John Montorio, a former editor at the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, as its new culture and entertainment editor.
Conclusively, Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post, has taken charge of what is now called AOL’s Huffington Post Media Group as president and editor-in-chief.