To paraphrase Pink Floyd. It appears Tim Armstrong is on his way to turning AOL into a content producing machine. That is a big shift from where AOL used to be however it is just the next step in their evolution. The first step was when they bought Advertising.com, the second step was when they acquired Weblogs, Inc. and all their assets. And now, it would not surprise me if they complete the transformation by turning themselves into a prolific content producing machine where their independent blogs such as TMZ and engadget.com become more profitable and prolific than the “mother ship” AOL itself.

I think people are finally waking up to the fact that there is great value in content on the Web and that asset needs to be cultivated and protected. Those that will be able to produce content, accelerate its distribution, and extract value at every turn, will be the most successful in the next evolution of the Web. To me, AOL is a fascinating case study and one that bears watching.