AOL Reorganizing, Combining Dial-Up & Web Services

Web pioneer and current Web also-ran AOL, Inc., is planning a company-wide restructuring effort beginning in January, according to comments made to Bloomberg by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong (pictured below).

The company will combine its dial-up service (people still have that?) with its other Web services to create a single business unit, which includes AOL Instant Messenger, email, photos, and more. The idea is to get more individual users using more of the company’s services and stay on AOL sites longer, which sounds like a page out of the Google playbook. It also happens to make a lot of common sense.

In addition to this new combined unit, AOL’s restructuring will include three other units--advertising, local services, and a media group (aka the Huffington Post).

Ned Brody will be in charge of the advertising division. The local services wing will include the Patch news business and MapQuest and will be run by Jon Brod. To the surprise of no one, Arianna Huffington will run the media group.

Armstrong made it clear that AOL isn’t planning to sell off or spin off anything in the wake of the restructuring.