A brief note here.
Time Warner/AOL have announced the biggest single corporate loss in history..some £60 billion..
It's AOL that's been dragging it's feet, and one can see why actually. The service seems intrusive, almost condescending, and it's member section, designed to make one identify with the service, are completely irrelevant to some.
Simple solution perhaps. We are seeing the division within society, both in the US and Europe, of those with group identities. The natural progression of the movement started way back in the 60's.
So go to these groups, the Religious, Political, Economic, Entertainment, Disabled, Pop cultures all exist, and would eagerly subscribe to a net provider that made their lives easier. Some poor soul wandering the back roads of the highway for months, looking for a 'socio/religious chatroom with the ambiance of Oprah and a minimum of idiots', and all the time it was within the power of the provider to have realized this lack, and provided a direct link. In fact, more than a direct link, there could easily have been a community of like thinking folks forming within the AOL structure, had the choices been offered.
Allow maximum flexibility, and cross referencing. Let the user build his own little world, without restriction.
If they can do the effects for Lord of the Rings, one would think they'd have little difficulty designing a few thousand skins.
Then, make it cheap, and available to those who don't have a credit card.
After all, what have they got to lose?