Google Veep Jumps Ship

Why anyone would want to take over AOL is anyone's guess. But Google Senior Vice President Tim Armstrong has decided Time Warner's ailing online content unit is salvageable, and has jumped ship to take over as CEO, replacing Randy Falco. "At Google, Armstrong helped build one of the most successful media teams in the history of the Internet—helping to make Google the most popular online search advertising platform in the world for direct and brand marketers," Time Warner Chairman Jeff Bewkes wrote in a statement announcing the hire. Armstrong's expertise is in sales, but he has a fair amount of experience working with teams from different departments, so he comes in well-positioned to understand all elements of AOL's business model. Assuming there is one.

What does this mean for AOL? ZDNet Editor-in-Chief Larry Dignan suspects that, contrary to rumors, Time Warner will hold onto AOL and try to make it work, rather than sell it off and move on to greener pastures. "It's doubtful that Armstrong would join AOL to be a mere caretaker," he wrote.

But what will Armstrong do to turn around AOL's sagging fortunes? For starters, he'll make a lot of bland pronouncements about the strength of AOL's brand and the dynamic Internet world. "The industry is changing very rapidly and I think that's creating very large opportunities," he told paidContent's Staci Kramer just after the hire was announced. If you'd like to see Armstrong dodge the rest of Kramer's questions, just click here. If not, here's a typical gem: "One thing I'm hopefully going to do better than anybody is listen." Maybe AOL should've hired a therapist; after all, they only bill $60 an hour.