According to CBS MarketWatch.com, AOL is preparing to support some form of blogging:
America Online reportedly will furnish subscribers the tools through which they can publish diaries and commentaries on the Web. Known as “Blogs,” or Weblogs, they are easily produced one-page Web sites, popularized by entertainment artists and journalists. They are also used by school pupils and vegetarians, among others, and for political comment by individuals and organizations.
I am reminded of the old Usenet saying, “It’s always September somewhere on the Net.”
Will AOL use custom tools or partner with an existing blog vendor? What will AOL’s competitors do?
The report quotes Rick Robinson, AOL’s vice president of community products:
“There will be a significant (software/feature) release probably in the February time frame … which will fundamentally alter the way people currently interact in threaded discussions.” … Robinson told Mark Hurst of Creative Good that the AOL Time Warneronline unit has been looking at offering Weblogs. “It’s natural that the blog and the home page would combine. And when you remember that AOL has the largest collection of home pages in the world, it kind of gets interesting,” he said.