AOL is doing ‘Biz’ with the man who co-founded the microblogging juggernaut known as Twitter. Serving as AOL’s new “social impact advisor,” Biz Stone comes to the Internet giant just days after The Huffington Post was acquired by AOL for $315 million.
The partnership with Stone serves as another telling example of AOL’s re-branding efforts and greater emphasis on social media.
Stone says his new role at AOL will not change his role at Twitter.
In a blog post to his website this week, Stone says AOL “is a company undergoing a rebirth and it has an amazing opportunity to align itself with meaning. The concept of doing good is not proprietary. To the extent that I am able, I’d like to help more companies follow this template toward a higher definition of success and more meaningful corporate metrics. When Arianna and Tim first spoke to me about advising in this capacity, I got a strong sense that they were serious about cause based initiatives.”
“My role at Twitter has not changed,” Stone stressed. “I’m keeping my day job in addition to accepting a role as Social Impact Advisor at AOL. There are a handful of organizations I’ve agreed to advise. Last year, two startups I advised were acquired, leaving room to consider helping others. When I take on any advisory role, I’m considerate of time and expectations. My new partnership with AOL promises to be very meaningful and I’m excited about its potential.”
Stone presently serves as creative director at Twitter where he is largely considered to be the face and voice of the 5-year old social networking powerhouse.
