• by Masha Geller , July 18, 2002

As you’ve probably heard by now, Bob Pittman has resigned from his post as COO of AOL Time Warner. How could you not? Even though the news was released Thursday afternoon after the markets closed, the resignation was in the work long before. Now that it’s official, everyone expects columnists and reporters to talk about it for a few days.

While some are looking at Pittman’s resignation as a bail-out (he’s recently said he’s tired of being blamed for the company’s problems), he’s the man, as some stock analysts said, who has been “associated with the big promises that were made that were never fulfilled.” So, his resignation could actually be viewed as a positive step for the company.

Analysts are also saying that it’s time for AOL Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons to really explain the strategy for AOL Time Warner's Internet unit, which has been the most problematic for the company, partly because consumers are seeking faster broadband Internet access, and AOL's dial-up service is still the company's bread and butter.

More importantly, some say, AOL may have outlived its usefulness. As Michael Mahoney, managing director for EGM Capital, a hedge fund specializing in media, told AOL Time Warner’s CNN.com yesterday, “As people gain greater sophistication in using the Net, they don't need the walled garden that is AOL. The only reason you pay for AOL is if you think there is lots of great stuff in the garden -- but everything outside the garden is phenomenal so you don't need it."

The thing is, as implications for the online ad industry do, there aren’t any yet. The people that I’ve talked to so far – mostly AOL’s ad partners - all say they deal with people much lower on the food chain than Pittman was, so there will be little change in their daily work lives. Not to mention that Pittman will only leave AOL after the company finds a new CEO for AOL, which could take a while.

There. I’ve talked about it.