He repeatedly called out the company web-services divisions for failing to pull their own weight, and suggested that fixing them may require running them as though the profits from the dial-up business didn't exist. “Healthy companies throw off cash,” he said. “What you should be focusing on is, how does the web services business throw off cash?”
Two important businesses, AOL Mail and MapQuest, have both been mismanaged, though in different ways, he said. The former was “overrun by monetization,” driving users away. “”The first day I started, I logged into AOL email and I got 15 to 20 ads, some of them pop-ups,” he said. “When you sent a nice message to your friend, you usually sent them a nice ad as well, and that's not really a nice user experience.” He added, “It's kind of product hygiene.”
MapQuest, meanwhile, was the victim of technological neglect, which, in turn, relates to a failure by AOL to recruit top engineers. That issue, he said, is being addressed aggressively. “Engineers love to solve big problems, and AOL is a big problem on that side,” he said. “If anyone in this room has relatives who are engineers and who are good, send them to AOL. We'll make them very happy.”
But while it may be looking to hire geeks, AOL is also in the midst of a huge workforce reduction, one that will shrink the company's payroll by 2,500 employees. That downsizing, Armstrong said, is the reason he declined to accept a bonus of between $1.5 million and $4 million he was due for 2009. “I don't think I should've gotten paid for laying off a third of my employees,” he said.
“We are running the company in a very rigorous way,” Armstrong added. “I think the morale at the company has turned around a lot, even with the reductions.”
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Is 99 weeks of unemployment checks enough? Or should it be extended? If extended, where will the money come from?
How can they extend the benefits when they have no money? Eventually these people getting unemployment are going to have to get off their ass and take a job that they may think is “beneath them”.Getting unemployment for 99 weeks is MORE than enough time to find a job, even if it's a crappy job at Walmart. Enough is enough.
(12-08) 16:28 PST — Nearly 600,000 jobless Californians could run out of unemployment benefits by April unless Congress extends a series of special assistance measures that expire at the end of December, says the National Employment Law Project.
The 65 percent federal subsidy for Cobra benefits will also expire at year's end, said the Law Project and allied groups at a press conference Monday in Washington.
Law Project chief Christine Owens said that nearly half of those now enrolled in the health insurance program could lose coverage unless the Cobra subsidy is reauthorized and extended.
Unemployment benefits normally last a maximum of 26 weeks and laid-off workers typically pay for continuing their old employment-based health insurance under Cobra.
But under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or the Obama stimulus plan, Congress allocated $40 billion to make unemployment benefits available for up to 79 weeks, and another $25 billion to subsidize Cobra.
Lawmakers recently added up to 20 weeks of unemployment checks, for a total of 99 weeks of benefits in California.
But those provisions expire at the end of December, and the groups holding Monday's press conference said that by the end of March, about 3 million Americans are projected to exhaust their benefits as the unemployment coverage maximum reverts to 26 weeks.
Making 99 weeks of unemployment benefits available throughout 2010 would cost about $85 billion, and extending the Cobra subsidy could be another $25 billion decision, said a Capitol Hill source.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to extend both programs before the end of the year. New bills H.R. 4183 and S. 2381 would address jobless benefits.
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Alternet.org
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Yaaayyyy. I think I made A's on all of them, and I should have two A's for final grades, at least. Woot woot.
I finally got my first unemployment check yesterday!
That means I can pay for stuff! And buy DVDs like Harry Potter, and Glee! And also Christmas presents!You guys should tell me if you want Christmas cards. I need to get on that. Leave me your address if you want one – comments are obvs screened. And also if you did the Christmas list meme thing, link me! I might be able to send you a pressie! ^_^
You know what's really annoying? My older sister owes me $560, 'cause last year she got into a lot of trouble for driving with expired tags and without insurance, so she had to pay like, $640 in fines and stuff. I lent her the money because I had it from my refund check and she didn't have any money, so I did the nice thing and helped her out. It's been nearly a year and she has paid me like, $80. She works at a costume shop, like dancewear and Halloween stuff, and I kind of expected her to give me a little in October when they were staying open later and she was working more days… but no. And every time I ask her for money ('cause I don't even have a job, and I have to pay my cell phone and help James with everything else) she makes a big deal and is like "Well, I JUST BARELY have enough for rent, so I GUESS I can spare like, $20. YAYYYY." And then she goes out and drinks every night and buys really stupidly expensive things for no reason… grrr.
So yeah. We went to a burlesque show the other night (which was awesome, btw – I want to be a burlesque girl! I'm too shy and too fat, though.) and it was $8 to get in, which Kelly paid for both her and her boyfriend, and then started drinking as soon as we walked in and didn't stop till after we left. She was all "Want a ride home?!" and I was like "…. NO." -_- But yeah, so she spent at least $25 that night, which she could have been giving to me so I could pay my overdue phone bill. >_< Sometimes she really annoys me.
Sorry. I'm just annoyed at a lot of people right now. But GLEEEEEE tonight you guys!
GLEEEEE! <3 I love it, omg. I have to go do laundry so I can be done before Glee comes on. -_- Bah.
