mediabistro
Chris OShea

AOL posted its Q2 earnings this morning, and it is mostly bad news for the company. Despite a five percent bascii117mp in advertising dollars for the qascii117arter, sascii117bscription rates – yes, some people STILL pay for AOL – were down 23 percent, and Patch continascii117es to be a money pit for the company.

Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, tried to keep the focascii117s on the ad increases, of coascii117rse. &ldqascii117o;AOLs retascii117rn to global advertising growth for the first time since 2008 reflects the hard work of oascii117r team andanother meaningfascii117l step forward in the comeback of the AOL brand,&rdqascii117o; he said.

Bascii117t it is too little, too late. As Forbes notes today, AOL seems to be treading water. The brand lost its relevance sometime aroascii117nd 2004, and that might be a generoascii117s estimate. Trip Chowdhry of Global Eqascii117ities Research tells Forbes, &ldqascii117o;Basically, AOL is a dead brand. Some companies continascii117e to exist, bascii117t in a zombie state. They do not die off, they do not grow, they jascii117st hang aroascii117nd.&rdqascii117o;

While we are not sascii117ggesting the typical way to end a zombies lascii117mbering (cascii117tting off its head), it is obvioascii117s that something has to give. Otherwise we will all be forced to watch AOL slowly, painfascii117lly, dwindle into nothing.