AOL confirms: No more user-uploaded video

AOL is ending its foray into user-generated video, the company confirmed Monday after a weekend of blog reports. On December 18, its AOL Video Uploads service will officially close its doors.

Users who have videos currently hosted through the service will receive an e-mail this week, and will be given the chance to transfer their videos to AOL's preferred alternative, start-up Motionbox, before December 18. If they don't, their videos will be deleted.

AOL has made a concerted effort to shake off some of its older and less successful properties--Journals, Hometown, and AOL Pictures, to name a few, not to mention the fact that parent company Time Warner plans to spin off its flagging dial-up service--while forging ahead with newer, shinier projects. The company continues to launch new blog titles and beef up its Platform-A advertising product; it's also modified its homepage to bring in feeds from multiple e-mail and social-networking sites.

The Google-owned YouTube remains the overwhelming leader in amateur video uploads.

But AOL's not the only one reworking its service priorities. Earlier this fall, Microsoft announced that it was shutting down its MSN Groups service in favor of starting the new Windows Live Groups, and that MSN Groups would be effectively ported over to social network Multiply.

[paul.saulnier]

Anyone still using AOL for anything needs to give their head a good shake.

AOL Mail is still a good service but only old people use the AOL Client Program

Every AOL Service, For Example: Video Hosting, Website Hosting, File Hosting and many more is closing down if AOL creates another service no one will use them because they'l just be deleted a year later when the service ends up not being profitable

[compudoc318]

the only people still using aol are people who want to keep those old email addresses and old people who still think you need it to get on the internet. ive removed viruses easier than fully removing aol...lol.

[Rick Cavaretti]

Ah...no. I've had my AOL email address since 1992. Were you born yet? I refuse to give it up, and I'm not old. AOL is just a launching page with a Google search box, news, and weather on it. No different than the similar free services provided by MSN, Yahoo, and others. Like they say, if it works, and it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[JCPayne]

Wow AOL is still around? They're sooo yesteryear like Microsoft.

[streamline35]

How is AOL still alive!??!!?!?!?