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In the News: AOL Time Warner, Inc.
With Julia L. Wilkinson
Author, "My Life at AOL"
Friday, July 19, 2002; Noon EDT

As media giant AOL sought to become even bigger in 2001 with a merger with Time Warner, the changing realities of the economy and the Internet forced the company to explore new ways to maintain its revenue. A series of unconventional deals and shifts in revenue helped the company benefit from the dot-com collapse. Critics say the company sometimes went too far; AOL says its methods "were appropriate." Is the criticism fair, or are we approaching a frenzy? Read the full story Unconventional Transactions Boosted Sales (Post, July 18).

Julia L. Wilkinson, author of "My Life at AOL (1stBooks Library, 2001)," comes online to talk about the recent management structure and corporate culture at AOL Time Warner, Inc. on Friday, July 19, at Noon EDT.

Wilkinson has been quoted on National Public Radio and in USA Today, published many articles in industry publications, and been a columnist for various magazines and online services. She was most recently a contributor for Bisnow.com, a website about high-tech CEOs and their lifestyles; and recently wrote weekly columns on business, technology, and home office issues for the women's business website womenCONNECT.com. At AOL, she worked as production manager, responsible for all design and production for four major AOL channels: Life, Styles & Interests; The Newsstand; Hobby Central; and Religion & Beliefs. In her career as producer, Julia created online areas in conjunction with major media partners such as The New York Times, Scientific American, Hachette Filipacchi magazines, Business Week, Wired, the Army Times, and Windows Magazine; as well as for the News, Personal Finance and Media departments.

Below is the transcript.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Julia L. Wilkinson: Hi, all. Welcome! I'm happy to be here!

Washington, D.C.: Were you at AOL when the merger was announced? Did the rank-and-file have concerns about the new-old-media merger?

Julia L. Wilkinson: No, I was not at AOL then. I must say it seemed a little ironic, because I remember back in the "early days" AOL stock rose once on a rumor of Time Warner buying AOL!

I imagine there were some concerns within the rank-and-file, but my sense is it would have been a feeling of pride and success to be merging with such an established media company.

Arlington, Va.: The Washington Post two-part series on AOL Time Warner focuses a lot on the corporate culture at the company, specifically the hard-charging executives who used questionable accounting practices and business agreements to make the company's financials look better. Was this culture more widespread within AOL? How about the other big tech media giants?

washingtonpost.com: Part I: Unconventional Transactions Boosted Sales (Post, July 18)

No. 2 Officer Quits At AOL Time Warner (Post, July 19)

Julia L. Wilkinson: I do think the corporate culture always seemed hard-charging and aggressive...AOL was always a very ambitious company. When you look at what they created...from building a company from scratch, pretty much...and going from very much the online underdog -- #3 to Prodigy and Compuserve -- to the #1 online service...it took some pretty aggressive marketing to do that.

And, the growth of the Internet in the 90s catalyzed all that.

I think other tech giants could be classified that way...I can't speak for them per se, obviously, having not worked there..but certainly Microsoft is known for having an aggressive strategy and corporate culture. (Working long hours, etc.!)

Washington, D.C.: What kind of reaction/access did you get from AOL officials in writing your book?

Julia L. Wilkinson: Yes..interesting question. Not much, actually. ;) More, it was from my coworkers...the "old timers" who worked there from the early days. We all had a pretty tight bond, watching a startup grow...and everyone did put in long hours to accomplish that. I think they were mostly amused. I have heard from some about my nostalgia web site, the "Ancient AOL Disk and Memorabilia Museum."

In general, the tone of the book is positive, so I would think they wouldn't have a problem with it. If it was even on their radar screen. ;)

Arlington, Va.: How do the revelations of accounting practices compare with your perception of the culture in Dulles?

Julia L. Wilkinson: Well, it doesn't surprise me that much. Because yes, I see it as "creative" and aggressive, and AOL always seemed aggressive to me. But it is not clear that they did anything illegal. While AOL may have been aggressive, my sense was not that there was anything fishy going on. Sure, there were jokes about how we spammed the country with free disks, etc...funny but not immoral. Steve Case, for one, always seemed to care about the company's reputation and keeping it aboveboard.

Herndon, Va.: What is your analysis of the situation with Bob O'Connor?

Julia L. Wilkinson: Bob O'Connor...yes, interesting. ;) Well, having not been involved in it, I can't analyze it too closely. I must say I was taken aback by seeing the content of Myer Berlow's internal email in the Post!

Let me just say that there seemed to be turnover at AOL at a regular pace...whether just because it's a dynamic company, or it had to do layoffs at various low points in its history. There does seem to be a tight corporate culture, and my sense is if you want to "succeed," it helps to try to "fit in." Not that an individual should do anything they don't feel comfortable with.

Laurel, Md.: I once had an AOL account. The I forsook it for an ISP that cost about half as much.

Does AOL perceive of itself as having a sort of self-limiting appeal ("once people have been on-line a couple of years they drop us for someone less expensive") and a constant stream of new users is constantly required, because few people remain with AOL for many years?

Julia L. Wilkinson: Another good question. "I once Had an AOL account"..is that a new country song? ;)

I wouldn't think AOL only hopes to hold people for a limited time. I would think they would rather people felt the service had enough value to preclude people from wanting to leave.

but yes, I think they recognize there is a constant churn..well, that is probably true of any business...certainly media businesses.

Your question raises the issue of AOL's perceived value..something I see as critical for them to work on to hold people. As the Internet gets more confusing and big, I do think some people see ease of use and value-added content as important. Maybe not everyone. But I think an "Only on AOL" kind of sense for hot content could help.

Tysons Corner, Va.: Since you left AOL so long ago, and have no access to people there now, how can you discuss the current situation with any sense of authority?

Julia L. Wilkinson: Another brilliant question! ;) A fair one. Well, I have not been an internal employee for a few years, this is true. I have kept up with some folks there, but fewer and fewer of the "old timers" are there as time passes.

I can say that having written a book about AOL, and doing various media appearances such as radio spots, I have felt it important to keep up with the company's progress, so I stay up on it, or try to.

I can also say that as far as I know, no other AOL employee has ever written a book about it. And, I can lend an historical perspective on the company.

New York, N.Y.: With the restructuring taking place at AOL Time Warner, what do you think the role will be of America Online? Could the company be renamed Time Warner AOL?

Julia L. Wilkinson: I read that "Time Warner AOL" thing and had to laugh. But would that really help? I mean, at least with AOL Time Warner they can be in the front of the phone book.
;)

But yeah, that might happen! I think the role of AOL Time Warner remains to be seen. It is being evaluated now in a highly-charged environment -- we just came off a terrible year...as the Queen of England might say, an "annus horribilus." ad slowdown, 9/11, terrorism, then these horrific accounting scandals. If AOL has been overhyped in the past, and it probably was, then I personally think it is being overly criticized now.

AOL does have some challenges ahead, but I think with the right moves and deals..and maybe some luck..it could turn things around. It has several times before in the past.

Arlington, Va.: You always hear about the AOL janitor who became a millionaire and opened a Harley Davidson shop somewhere. What's your favorite AOL rags-to-riches story? And do you have one of your own?

Julia L. Wilkinson: Oh yes, I love that story. LOL...janitor! I actually think he was a producer...or started out on the phones. His job keeps getting worse with time..now he was a janitor. ;)

As I recall, if it's who I think, his name is Hal McCabe and he went on "Oprah" wehen they did a show about millionaires etc. I think he runs his own website. I thought he was going to write a book about his years at AOL called "Peon"..I don't know what happened w/ that.

AOl rags-to-riches...well, probably more like middle-class to riches. ;) Yes, several folks I know are decently wealthy..one has a vineyard, many are "retired." Let's just say I feel fortunate but I'm no Bill Gates. (Or Steve Case). ;)

Annandale, Va.: I worked at AOL in 1997, in Operations, I liked AOL, but didn't appreciate a management style that treated people as usable resources to be let go when not needed. I think that came down from Pittman. I wonder how he likes it now.

Julia L. Wilkinson: Yes, I hear that. How are ya by the way. ;)

Well, I guess what goes around comes around! These top executives are under enormous pressures, no doubt, to perform. And layoffs are sometimes a tough part of that. But yes, personally I and my coworkers found layoffs a very tough thing to deal with. I talk a little it about that in my book. Good luck to you, by the way!

Fairfax, Va.: Would you agree with the sentiment that AOL was far more focused on making money and cutting big business deals than providing a worthwhile service to its customers?

Julia L. Wilkinson: That may be true, but not intentional. There may have been a survival mode the company felt it had to go into with the dot-bomb meltdowns and ad revenue imploding. But I didn't feel as a "content side" AOL employee that we didn't care about the online experience or the customer...on the contrary, the "member experience" and interface was something we worked hard on.

I used to feel like AOL was to online services what Apple Macintosh did for PC's...gave it a fun, easy to use interface. Now the whole web has a graphic interface..AOL still has value added content, but they need to improve it and get the message out more what that is, IMHO.

Alexandria, Va.: From your experience at AOL do you feel there's any chance that AOL will join the ranks of mega-companies caught in ugly accounting scandals?

Julia L. Wilkinson: All I can say is, I hope not. From what I've read, I can say it does sound "creative," but the jury is still out on whether it was in any way illegal. My sense, for what it's worth, is it will not turn out to be an Enron or Worldcom..but there is real fear out there now. And how could investors not be afraid? I think it's going to take time to calm fears and reassure investors.

I think companies..and certainly AOL..know now that they are going to be held to high standards..and coming off the go-go 90s that is probably a good thing. Investors do have the right to make informed decisions. Obviously investors can't..and shouldn't necessarily..know EVERYTHING about a co., but they should know enuf material information to make good decisions with their hard-earned money.

I also wanted to say that my sense of Richard Parsons is he wants AOL to be aboveboard on all this stuff and will work hard to be forthcoming.

Los Angeles, Calif.: I used to work in tech and consider myself somewhat Internet savvy. I also worked for the media for a number of years, too.

That said, I just don't see the value AOL-Time Warner has in, well, anything: