Back in the mid-90s, I really thought that AOL (America Online) couldn’t keep competing against the tidalwave of new ISPs that were offering Internet connectivity for much less, not to mention without the horrible bandwidth-sucking AOL application in an age of dial-up modems. I was quite wrong. Relatively few knew about those ‘other’ ISPs and AOL thrived.
In what may retrospectively be seen as hubris, AOL merged with media giant Time Warner and the company was even know for a few years as AOL Time Warner.
The merger was a mess. The 2 companies never really merged and benefited from any potential symbiotic relationships. AOL later became a subsidiary, and now they’re being thrown off altogether.
Will AOL survive by itself? I don’t see it. I imagine they’ll need to get absorbed by another ISP or tech company in order to carry on.