AOL Journals: Magic Smoke

Monday, February 13, 2006
4:06:00 PM EST
Hearing Madder Rose, 20 Foot Red Hi folks -- so, as many of you know, AOL Vice Chairman, Washington Capitals owner, and all 'round interesting fellow Ted Leonsis opened up his Ted's Take blog to the world on Thursday; it's at http://ted.aol.com:

One thing you'll notice right off the bat (other than his big grinning SuperBuddy icon art) -- it's not an AOL Journal.

You might ask, "Joe, you do programming for the AOL Journals product. That's your job. Doesn't this make you angry/upset/scared/foamy?"

You might be surprised (though frankly, I'm a little surprised at some of the people who are surprised) to hear that the answer is: No, it doesn't bother me in the least.

Here's why.

As part of my role as a programming guy for AOL blogs, I've given a few talks to groups inside AOL to try to encourage them to blog. One of the first things I tell people is that the AOL Journals product is, at its heart, a personal blogging platform. It has some plusses and some minuses -- it's really easy to set up and use, but it just don't do certain things some bloggers might need right now. 

If AOL Editors choose to use it -- we hope they will, there are many who do, and some of them are doing some neat stuff with it -- I and the Journals team will do everything we can to support them.

However, if AOL Journals isn't the right product for them, when it comes down to it, I would rather they blog using third-party software rather than not blog at all.

I was talking to cow-orker and NetGirl blogger Stephanie, who reminded me of something folks might be missing: How cool is it that Ted is actually out here with his blog? These are his words, he's not just talking about stuffy "official" AOL stuff, and he's been updating it just about every day (heck, even I have trouble doing that).

It's not about the software.

Even more shockingly, I say the same thing to "regular" bloggers and Journalers. If the AOL Journals product isn't right for you because it doesn't do A, B or C; well, I will work with the product guys to try to get it added in an upcoming release. If we can't do it or the timing doesn't work for you, you should probably try another product and see how that goes.

Now, obviously, we want to keep improving the AOL Journals product to make it more competitive with other blog products; Product Manager Susan will have a lot more to say on upcoming releases, because we've got some cool stuff planned for AOL Journals in 2006.

Looking at Ted's blog specifically -- early on, we had some conversations with some of Ted's team to talk about his blog; they had some specific requirements that the AOL Journals platform wasn't going to get within their timeframe.  For example, one of those requirements was for more control over the look and layout of the blog; AOL Journals is going to get this in the spring with custom skins, but we're not ready yet.

So, they went with a custom implementation that exists to serve one customer: Ted. (You can see what he wrote on this subject here: Why Not AOL Journals?)

Would I like AOL Journals to have some of the features that Ted's blog has? You betcha. You have to understand, though, that there's a big difference between the work you do to build and maintain a product that supports one user, versus one that's used by thousands or millions.

I've also heard, secondhand, of some grumbling from inside the company about Ted's decision to not use an AOL product to blog with. Folks -- all that talk about opening up to the Web? This is it. The point of Web 2.0 isn't to try to force people into a silo ("You're now breathing AOL Air™!") -- it's about building an experience that's going to add value because it lets people plug in the pieces that are useful to them, in the way they like.

You say you like AIM, Flickr, Google Maps, Moviefone, Fox News, LinkedIn and Digg? We shouldn't try to force you into using something else -- we should be finding a way that makes it easier for you to do all these things together, in the way that fits in to your life.

To reiterate:
* No, I don't mind that Ted isn't using AOL Journals.
* Yes, we're going to keep improving and enhancing AOL Journals, so please stay tuned for new stuff coming in 2006.
* Yes, by all means, try other products and let us know where we need to improve our own.
* Yes, I'm all out of things to say.

Thanks -- Joe

Written by journalseditor Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this

This entry has 18 comments: (Add your own)

• #18 Comment from judithheartsong 
  2/24/06 9:45 AM | Permalink

  interesting that a lot of aol employees have a blog hosted outside aol...... very interesting.
  
  Judith HeartSong
  http://judithheartsong.blogspot.com/
• #17 Comment from pattboy92 
  2/14/06 5:00 AM | Permalink

  <<All I am trying to say is users have to evaluate the Journals product (as with any product) and determine if it's right for them and the way they wish to use it.>>
  
  I agree with you completely on that point, Joe.  
  
  <<Demanding that Ted use AOL Journals for his blog (even if it's not a good fit) would be as silly as saying that because he's with AOL, that the Washington Capitals Web site has to be a Hometown site.>>
  
  With respect, you're comparing apples to oranges.  Most businesses buy their own domain.  I never thought AOL Hometown was designed for businesses, anyway.  As a consumer, I would EXPECT the Capitals' page to be something like WashingtonCapitals.com.  I know of no prominent national business hosting its web presence on AOL Hometown.
  
  But if I saw the chief of Ford Motors driving a Chevy, or the head of Delta Airlines only flying United (when Delta flew the same route), or even a member of the Walton family doing all of their shopping in Kmart, I'm going to wonder why they're not embracing their own product; and I'm not alone in that.  
  
  <<We're working on improving the product, but in the meantime, we're not trying to force anyone to use AOL Journals if it's not right for them. That's all I'm saying.>>
  
  I'm glad to see that AOL Journals is being improved.  That's a win for AOL, for bloggers, and the blogosphere as a whole.
  
  But AOL isn't in a position to "force" a customer to use only their blog service.  It seems reasonable to me that someone in a high position within AOL would at least USE the product, even if he maintains a "primary blog" elsewhere.  No matter how well it's justified, it is still sending a message that I don't think AOL means to send.
  
  Patrick
  
• #16 Comment from monponsett 
  2/14/06 12:18 AM | Permalink

  Again, Ted is a superb judge of talent.
• #15 Comment from journalseditorEntry Author 
  2/13/06 10:51 PM | Permalink

  Patrick,
  
  All I am trying to say is users have to evaluate the Journals product (as with any product) and determine if it's right for them and the way they wish to use it.
  
  Demanding that Ted use AOL Journals for his blog (even if it's not a good fit) would be as silly as saying that because he's with AOL, that the Washington Capitals Web site has to be a Hometown site.
  
  It would be different if AOL was saying, "Because you're an AOL member, we forbid you from using anybody else's software to blog." As I said and as you yourself know, we're not.
  
  We're trying to be open about the product, both where we are right now and where we're headed with enhancements, schedules and new features.
  
  We're working on improving the product, but in the meantime, we're not trying to force anyone to use AOL Journals if it's not right for them. That's all I'm saying.
  
  Thanks -- Joe
• #14 Comment from sepintx 
  2/13/06 10:33 PM | Permalink

  I would not have expected him to use AOL Journals. When I looked at the comments where he addressed the Goodmail situation it became clear to me that his blog along with the unique design all help him present his message in an effective manner. I don't think he'd be as effective using the Journal tool to address issues like that one.
  
  I read along in RSS anyhow and Ted's Take looks just like the rest of my feeds.
  
  Wonder if he'll get fined like Cuban did for blog dissing the NBA at some point. Glad to see him blogging. Should be a fun read if he sticks with it.
  

Show all comments (13 more)