aol on network posts

It's no secret that at AOL, we think video is a hugely important part of today's web experience. In April of this year, I helped to launch AOL's new video arm, The AOL On Network, a major initiative that put our video strategy front and center. The vision behind AOL On is to bring the best of the TV experience – highly curated programming across a variety of channels – to the web. Since then, we've seen incredible traction across the board – with consumers, advertisers, publishers and content producers. Our video library has increased by more than 30% since launch, from 320,000 to 420,000 videos. And through distribution of this content to some of the most popular destinations online, we're now reaching tens of millions of consumers who are hungry for the best of what's on now.

It's for this reason that we're so excited by comScore's Video Metrix Report for August, which tracks the largest video properties on the web. When looking at video streams, we were ranked second only to Google with 725M streams. On average, these viewers spent more than an hour watching our videos. This is a number that we're especially proud of given that the vast majority of our videos are short form. And for the second month in a row, we've also surpassed the 1B marker for total streams of both video ads and content. Lastly, we've been ranked #1 in the Auto, Business, Style, Home, Health, Travel, Technology and Food categories. Our success in this area validates our channel strategy and speaks to the contextual targeting that media buyers in a recent BrightRoll study say is the most valuable form of targeting.

We think this is just the beginning of a very bright future for our video at AOL, and we encourage you to stay tuned for more.

* Source: comScore Media Metrix, August 2012 Content Videos only

We're very excited to share the news that The AOL On Network has launched version 2.0 of our widely popular app for connected TVs. The upgraded app boasts a slick new interface as well as high-definition videos from AOL original content properties and its premium content partners, including everyone from Reuters to Entertainment Tonight to Gourmet TV and BBC.

The app features a selection of video from our massive library of more than 380,000 short-form videos. And best of all, we have hundreds of fresh new videos being added every day, so users are encouraged to check back often for more videos on their favorite topics. The upgraded app is now available on Samsung Smart TVs, Roku and Sony. We're also excited to reveal that TiVo will join the list of supported platforms in the coming weeks.

The launch of our new app brings great news on the advertiser front as well. Version 2.0 features ad-serving capabilities that enable AOL advertisers to reach consumers across a variety of connected TV platforms. Connected TVs are one of the most desirable platforms for advertisers right now, and we have plenty of high-quality inventory that will be executed via pre-roll ad units.

AOL is proud to provide users with the best entertainment from cable and the web in one place. To learn more about our offerings, please read the full press release here.

Last week AOL welcomed the opportunity to host 35 members of the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers (EACE) in our New York office for career service personnel to learn more about our recruiting process and internship programs.

The afternoon kicked off with an overview of AOL, presented by former MBA intern and current Director of Business Development, David Burrick. David explained how we make money, and provided an overview of our business strategy, focusing on our in brands and advertising growth.

The group then heard from a diverse panel of 6 interns and 2 interns turned employees who offered insight into how they landed their internships and what made their AOL experiences unique. HuffPost College's Alyssa Creamer emphasized the importance of relationship building while in school; she snagged her current internship by keeping in touch with her boss, Will McGuinness, who she met working on the UMass school newspaper. Former intern, Trista Myers explained that her previous experience wearing many hats working at a small startup prepared her for her internship with Corporate Events last year.

All of the students were particularly passionate about their experience as an intern and made a strong point in differentiating the AOL experience from those at other organizations. HuffPost Live's Front End developer intern, Steven Greenberg, described how feedback he gave on his very first day was immediately incorporated into the site design. The On Network's Marketing Coordinator and former intern Alyssa Marino spoke about the tremendous experience working on a re-brand, and how her internship at AOL was the first job where she wasn't counting down the minutes until 5:00pm.

The day wrapped up with a second interactive panel, featuring campus recruiters, full time recruiters and a few current intern managers. Our aim was to educate the audience about what we look for in a resume and what it takes to succeed in an AOL internship. Campus Recruiter Caitlin Geraghty explained that at The Huffington Post, we look for interns who are active in journalism and media, "obsessed with consuming content," and have had previous related internship experience.

Recruiter Laudine Vallarta explained how our Patch business, looks especially for those who were athletes in college, as their competitive nature and experience transition well to the sales environment. Dan Nelson, who currently manages the AOL Kids page, shared the real-world responsibilities he gives his current interns, as well as the importance AOL places on our Cultural Ambassador Program.

The afternoon spent with EACE was a great opportunity to share the wealth of opportunities at AOL, as well as learn what types of challenges college students face throughout he job search process. We look forward to partnering with them again, and growing our relationships with more universities!

To learn more about working and interning at AOL, visit our careers page.

Talent Acquisition Hosts University Career Services Professional in New York aol.it/NjFIdS

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) August 8, 2012

Memorial day has come and gone, signifying that summer has officially begun! Instead of relaxing by the pool or soaking in the sun, approximately 100 interns have joined the bustling AOL team in our NYC offices this summer. Interns from around the nation can be found gaining valuable work experience in a wide variety of ways, whether it's spending time as associate editors at The Huffington Post, contributing to the AOL On Network's Ad Operations & Reporting team, or assisting the AOL Events team with the annual Cannes International Advertising Festival!

On Wednesday, June 13^th, to kick off a fun summer of Intern Event Programming, nearly 50 interns gathered to learn more about Social Media from AOL's Director of Social Media & Internal Communications, Matt Knell. Matt and his social media savvy intern, Sarah Cooley, enlightened the crowd on what social media means to a business vs. an individual, as well as how different AOL brands and projects are best utilizing social media. Interns were particularly interested to learn that engagement and interaction numbers (i.e. "Facebook shares" and "retweets") are considered more important in determining social media's value than the number of Facebook "likes" or Twitter followers.

Following Matt's presentation, interns had an opportunity to munch on Baked by Melissa's Cupcakes while meeting fellow interns from teams with whom they might not typically work. AOL On Network's Paul Cooney (Fordham) and fellow intern Ally Shapiro, (Vanderbilt) who works on the Heidi Klum website, swapped stories about their contrasting experiences thus far, while Studio Now's Cooper Rowe (University of Kansas) and Huffington Post Celebrity's Chris Murphy (Princeton) discussed the best things to do in New York City this summer.

Interested in joining the AOL team for a summer or long term? Check out our careers page here.

.@AOL NYC Interns Get "Social" aol.it/KW6eIr

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) June 21, 2012