Kevin Kelleher
That thinking may well be true, but AOL's move represents a different dynamic whose ripples may be felt in the Internet sector far beyond Go Daddy's plans to raise cash. AOL's decision to offer free domain registration is the latest in a series of moves to offer for free the content and services that other companies, both public and private, were looking to for premium fees.
In recent weeks, in an effort to revise the customer base that has been deteriorating for years -- AOL's user base has peaked above 35 million in 2003 and has since dwindled to 23 million -- the company has shifted strategy toward an ad-supported model offering services that are now free. Throughout the 1990s, America Online's business model was providing reliable Internet service as well as, for the price of admission, basic Internet services such as email, instant messaging, and news and other proprietary content. But as the Internet evolved, other sites began offering these same services free and AOL lost customers who became sophisticated enough to feel stifled underneath AOL's protective wing. Now AOL is not only adopting the tactics that its rivals used against it, it's taking them a few steps further. Besides going after companies like Go Daddy and Yahoo!
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