AOL Journals Shuts Down

On October 31, 2008, AOL Journals, a once popular service will be shutting down.  The service is similar to Windows Live Spaces or Live Journal, in which people are able to share their thoughts with the world, while some traditional “blogging” features are limited.

With just three days left to transfer your files, other blogging systems (Blogger, for one) are hoping the users remaining on AOL will make the transition over to their service.  They have created a method to migrate and import your posts, comments, photos, and videos over (in hopes of making the transition as smooth as possible).  Note: A partnership was formed between the two companies.

The main reason the service is shutting down is to cut costs and, despite the fact that AOL is involved in maintaining several high-profile blogs after the purchase of Weblogs, Inc. in 2005.  AOL Journals and Hometown were in operation for five years and more than ten years, respectively.  There were more than 100,000 Journals users at the time of the closing announcement.

If you are a member, it is important to save all information (whether you are importing it to Blogger or manually saving it on your computer.  

For more information and news, visit the People Connection Blog.