AOL Blog

On Wednesday, our New York Culture Club, who develop creative ideas like team activities and charitable contributions to invigorate the culture at AOL, partnered with the AOL Marathon Team to host the first ever AOLympics and raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. Participants from around the office came to support the Marathon Team and compete for the gold, silver, and bronze medals, and, of course, office glory!

The competitions included balance beam, jump rope, spin chair shot-put, mini javelin, curling, and balloon volleyball. All efforts, including a raffle and bake sale, helped raise almost $1,000 towards the AOL Marathon team's contribution to the Ronald McDonald House. They are just a few dollars shy of their final goal so if you're interested in helping them out, you can donate here.

We're very excited to share the news that The AOL On Network has launched version 2.0 of our widely popular app for connected TVs. The upgraded app boasts a slick new interface as well as high-definition videos from AOL original content properties and its premium content partners, including everyone from Reuters to Entertainment Tonight to Gourmet TV and BBC.

The app features a selection of video from our massive library of more than 380,000 short-form videos. And best of all, we have hundreds of fresh new videos being added every day, so users are encouraged to check back often for more videos on their favorite topics. The upgraded app is now available on Samsung Smart TVs, Roku and Sony. We're also excited to reveal that TiVo will join the list of supported platforms in the coming weeks.

The launch of our new app brings great news on the advertiser front as well. Version 2.0 features ad-serving capabilities that enable AOL advertisers to reach consumers across a variety of connected TV platforms. Connected TVs are one of the most desirable platforms for advertisers right now, and we have plenty of high-quality inventory that will be executed via pre-roll ad units.

AOL is proud to provide users with the best entertainment from cable and the web in one place. To learn more about our offerings, please read the full press release here.

Tuesday night, AOL Artists teamed up with Artlog's Summer Art Pass for an exclusive evening of interactive art and a sneak peak of the AOL Artists collection. Upcoming AOL Artist Aakash Nihalani, who is featured in the collection, spoke about his artistic process and how he got started in the art field. Prior to the event, Aakash created a custom installation which was placed in the AOL office for the event's guests. Throughout the night, attendees could Instagram photos of themselves engaging with the piece for a chance to win a print of his upcoming canvases for AOL. The night ended with Aakash handing out neon tape and encouraging everyone to create ephemeral installations throughout the office, inspired by Aakash's infamous "street art."

Aakash Nihalani is a Brooklyn-based artist who has gained critical acclaim for his installation work. His most recent clients include Lacoste Live and Facebook. In Fall 2012, four of his original artworks will launch on AOL.com. AOL Artists actively commissions artists from around the world to create original works of art for the AOL brand. To date, 104 artists have been commissioned to create over 260 works of art in a variety of mediums including, painting, sculpture, drawing, and more.

Check out AOL Artists to view a gallery of all of our works of art.

.@aolartists & @artlog's Summer Art Pass aol.it/NlUH7a

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) August 9, 2012

Last week AOL welcomed the opportunity to host 35 members of the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers (EACE) in our New York office for career service personnel to learn more about our recruiting process and internship programs.

The afternoon kicked off with an overview of AOL, presented by former MBA intern and current Director of Business Development, David Burrick. David explained how we make money, and provided an overview of our business strategy, focusing on our in brands and advertising growth.

The group then heard from a diverse panel of 6 interns and 2 interns turned employees who offered insight into how they landed their internships and what made their AOL experiences unique. HuffPost College's Alyssa Creamer emphasized the importance of relationship building while in school; she snagged her current internship by keeping in touch with her boss, Will McGuinness, who she met working on the UMass school newspaper. Former intern, Trista Myers explained that her previous experience wearing many hats working at a small startup prepared her for her internship with Corporate Events last year.

All of the students were particularly passionate about their experience as an intern and made a strong point in differentiating the AOL experience from those at other organizations. HuffPost Live's Front End developer intern, Steven Greenberg, described how feedback he gave on his very first day was immediately incorporated into the site design. The On Network's Marketing Coordinator and former intern Alyssa Marino spoke about the tremendous experience working on a re-brand, and how her internship at AOL was the first job where she wasn't counting down the minutes until 5:00pm.

The day wrapped up with a second interactive panel, featuring campus recruiters, full time recruiters and a few current intern managers. Our aim was to educate the audience about what we look for in a resume and what it takes to succeed in an AOL internship. Campus Recruiter Caitlin Geraghty explained that at The Huffington Post, we look for interns who are active in journalism and media, "obsessed with consuming content," and have had previous related internship experience.

Recruiter Laudine Vallarta explained how our Patch business, looks especially for those who were athletes in college, as their competitive nature and experience transition well to the sales environment. Dan Nelson, who currently manages the AOL Kids page, shared the real-world responsibilities he gives his current interns, as well as the importance AOL places on our Cultural Ambassador Program.

The afternoon spent with EACE was a great opportunity to share the wealth of opportunities at AOL, as well as learn what types of challenges college students face throughout he job search process. We look forward to partnering with them again, and growing our relationships with more universities!

To learn more about working and interning at AOL, visit our careers page.

Talent Acquisition Hosts University Career Services Professional in New York aol.it/NjFIdS

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) August 8, 2012

This week MAKERS.com hears from a groundbreaking stewardess who talks about her fight against the discrimination of female flight attendants and from one of the country's first female coal miners, whose case against sexual harassment in the workplace reached the Supreme Court, making major strides in the women's movement.

Barbara "Dusty" Roads is a former stewardess and union leader who led a landmark sex discrimination case in the airline industry. Growing up loving aviation, Roads started flying as a stewardess with American Airlines once she realized women could not be hired as pilots. Although she enjoyed her career, she came to question industry policies that forced stewardesses to remain unmarried and retire at the age of 32. By 1965, Roads was a lobbyist for the National Flight Attendants Union, later the ALSSA, and began to fight back. In 1968, after years of determination and hard work, the Equal Opportunities Employment Commission issued a ruling prohibiting age ceilings or marriage bans in the airline industry.

Barbara Burns was one of the first female coal miners in the country and an 'everywoman' champion against sexual harassment in the workplace. By 1975, she was a mother of two with a husband in poor health. She was eager to earn more money for her family and became one of the first female coal miners in the country. She worked her way up through the ranks to foreman before being recruited by Smoot Coal Company, Inc. as a lab technician. At Smoot, Burns found herself the target of aggressive sexual advances and stalking by her boss, the company president. Unable to take it any longer, Burns eventually sought out attorney Betty Jean Hall and filed a complaint. The case lasted until 2000, when the West Virginia Supreme Court finally ruled in her favor.

Learn more about Barbara by watching this video:


Check out MAKERS.com to learn about more amazing women.

Visit MAKERS.com to learn about more inspirational women.

.@makerswomen Spotlights Stewardess, Coal Miner aol.it/NjoNrN

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) August 8, 2012