Since the Supreme Court struck down limits on corporate spending on political candidates ads, media companies have been salivating over the expected deluge related to this fall’s midterm elections. Online advertising should be an even bigger factor in the this time out than it was two years ago, and AOL…

Bebo is getting ready to announce its first new activity since being off-loaded by AOL in the next few weeks, says Adam Levin, the managing partner at buyer Criterion Capital Partners, who has been named CEO of the social network.

Hoping to mount a challenge to Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Map’s dominance, AOL’s MapQuest is embracing open-source mapping on a global scale, starting in Europe. It’s launching in beta here built on OpenStreetMap data for the UK. The beta platform will be a stand-alone offering and will live alongside MapQuest’s existing…

Two quarters in to life as a public company, AOL (NYSE: AOL) is looking for a new head of corporate communications. Tricia Primrose, the top spokesperson since 2007, is leaving the role as soon as a replacement is found. Primrose, who has been at AOL for more than 13 years,…

David Temkin, VP-developer platform for Palm (NSDQ: PALM), has left to head mobile for AOL (NYSE: AOL). Temkin will report to Brad Garlinghouse, president of consumer applications, and, like him, will be based in AOL’s Mountain View office. But Garlinghouse’s internal announcement about the new hire stresses a broader role…

Bebo’s new owner said it would “retain a San Francisco-based headquarters” - but it won’t be Bebo’s existing building. AOL (NYSE: AOL), whose CEO Tim Armstrong told staff Criterion Capital Partners will buy “substantially all of the assets”, is hanging on to Bebo’s office inside the six-storey building on 795…

AOL’s co-founder and former CEO weighs in on the off-load... {tweet_id="16331911577"}

After weeks of uncertainty about the fate of Bebo, AOL (NYSE: AOL) finally unloaded the social net—at a price tag that most likely isn’t anywhere near the $850 million AOL had paid for it two years ago. Here’s a quick look at the history of Bebo, beginning with AOL’s purchase,…

Selling to private equity may be the worst possible option for Bebo. The deal gives it no significant industry partner or parent with which it could hope to resurrect itself.

Per Wednesday’s speculation, LA private equity firm Criterion Capital Partners has confirmed it’s buying social network Bebo from AOL. Criterion isn’t disclosing any deal terms or price, which has been reported at $2.5 million by PEHub or $10 million by TechCrunch, two years after AOL bought Bebo for $850 million.

A couple of weeks after Tim Armstrong admitted there was interest in Bebo, AOL (NYSE: AOL) may well have a buyer for the social net. It’s highly unlikely the price tag will be anywhere near the steep $850 million the last regime paid for the service two years ago. Mashable…

An arm of the U.S Treasury is looking into concerns about AOL’s pending $187.5 million sale of instant messaging service ICQ to Russian investment group Digital Sky Technologies, due to fears that criminal investigations could be compromised, the FT reports (registration req.). ICQ, which was founded and run from Israel,…

Last week, AOL (NYSE: AOL) began talking up its plans for a stripped down “super network” content strategy. This week, the company is unveiling a “superstar network” that will serve to promote its entertainment offerings in partnership with the production company run by tween sensation The Jonas Brothers, the NYT…

*Google* vet David Eun has kept a low profile since he joined AOL (NYSE: AOL) in March as president of AOL Media and Studios. But this week he’s breaking out of the self-imposed shell, first to accept a digital power award from The Hollywood Reporter and now to explain just…

Luckily for internet-related conference organizers, *AOL* CEO Tim Armstrong doesn’t seem to be getting tired of answering the question: “What was wrong with AOL (NYSE: AOL) when you got there?” Answering that query from FM’s John Battelle at the CM Summit, Armstrong said that there was a flawed emphasis on…

The end of May is a memory and AOL (NYSE: AOL) has yet to announce the fate of Bebo, the $850 million bet made by previous management. I was told earlier this week an announcement could still be weeks away. This might be one reason: CEO Tim Armstrong just said…

AOL (NYSE: AOL) CEO Tim Armstrong began his fireside chat at day two of Techcrunch’s Disrupt conference by talking about the extensive review of the company’s operations. All operations, whether it was how long the legal department would strike agreements or how long it would take to bill customers would…

For months, most of the attention on Yahoo’s content has been about the company’s efforts to expand its coverage and enhance its quality. Now the company is in the spotlight for acquiring Associated Content, which, depending on your point of view, is either a content farm or a producer of…

AOL (NYSE: AOL) has given itself a year from now to make bottom-line progress with its massive turnaround effort—or rethink its strategy, according to Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth. Anmuth’s detailed notes following a meeting this week with AOL CFO Artie Minson include his surprise at the timing for that…