From a business standpoint, I've got to agree that AOL is making a lot of bold moves, and is trying to reform.
But from a humanist standpoint, reading an article about AOL's massive amount of open office space, reminds me that they just laid off (or are in the process of laying off) 25% of their workforce.
Not saying that this Palo Alto space is now free after former employees vacated, for all I know they worked in other offices, but still - my first gut reaction to this article was "yuck" - like "hey startups! We just laid off a huge chunk of our staff - more room for you!"
Well on the other hand look at how much these, huge cash (no ideas) rich companies spend prematurely buying out new ideas before these startups have flourished, thinking this will help their brand and traffic stats. However, If they succeed acting like an incubator, awesome ideas will have the time to blossom (with cash and high level support).
I was just there for an interview - it is very nice, new office space with plenty of parking. In true fashion, some of the tenants were racing RC cars around in the empty space, so whether it's due to layoffs or just an inability to rent, there's definitely more space in that building for interested startups.
I'm not sure what the exact terms are or even what the PA market looks like, but not having to sweat about office space seems on the surface like a Good Thing for a startup outgrowing their current digs (or living room).
Not sure I would want all of my engineers who are working on socially engineered spamming exposed to startup culture. They might not be able to resist the urge to move across the hall.
But from a humanist standpoint, reading an article about AOL's massive amount of open office space, reminds me that they just laid off (or are in the process of laying off) 25% of their workforce.
Not saying that this Palo Alto space is now free after former employees vacated, for all I know they worked in other offices, but still - my first gut reaction to this article was "yuck" - like "hey startups! We just laid off a huge chunk of our staff - more room for you!"