Skip to main content

Twitter’s Biz Stone joins AOL as philanthropy advisor

After giving walking papers to some 200 U.S. staffers (and another 700-odd support personnel overseas), AOL has announced it’s bringing in some comparatively big names to augment it’s new Huffington Post-powered content offerings. And at the top of the list is one of the best-known names in social media: Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is joining the Huffington Post Media Group as its “Strategic Adviser for Social Impact.” Stone’s mission will be to “enhance innovation around social impact and cause-based initiatives”—and that will apparently include building a new platform to enable companies to quickly depoy best practices throughout their organization as well as serve as an enabling tool for individuals doing service in their communities. Stone will also develop a video series that spotlights companies and executives at the leading edges of corporate philanthropy and social responsibility.

“My goal in partnering with AOL and The Huffington Post Media Group is ambitious but vitally important,” said Stone, in a statement. “Together we will rally companies to think about new ways of doing business, share best practices, and strive for positive impact at all levels—from global to local.”

AOL has also announced a “30-Day Service Challenge centered around encouraging employees to volunteer their time and talents to their communities, as a lead-up to AOL’s “Monster Help Day” on May 20. As part of the effort AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and Huffington Post head Arianna Huffington will be teaching a class at Brooklyn’s Urban Academy of Arts and Letters; AOL will also be donating $50,000 to Citizen Schools, and the Huffington Post plans to “prominently feature” needy families and individuals as well as organizations and nonprofits working to help at local levels.

AOL also announced eleven new additions to its reporting staff, including bringing in former Los Angeles Times Managing Editor Joe Montorio as Culture and Entertainment Editor.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
AOL going on hiring binge for Patch; more job cuts likely

After severe job cuts last month and news that disgruntled ex-Huffington Post writers will sue, AOL is about to hire hundreds of new writers. According to Bloomberg, part of the site’s restructuring will include hiring up to 800 full-time new staff members for Patch, which focuses on localized content. Good news for unemployed writers out there – bad news for current AOL and Huffington Post freelancers, many of which the hiring spree will eliminate.

Patch is currently up and running for 19 states and some 800 communities, and newly appointed editor in chief Arianna Huffington says that “Each site will now have its own team. It’s always great and better to have a team.” Sure, except for Patch’s current local editor and various freelancers currently responsible for content who now must fear being replaced. But Huffington seems undaunted and committed to the overhaul AOL is going through post merger, and wants to heighten Patch’s social element.

Read more
Unpaid bloggers sue AOL, Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post
Arianna-Huffington-AOL-Huffington-Post

A group of bloggers has filed a class action lawsuit against the Huffington Post, its founder Arianna Huffington and its new parent company AOL, reports Fortune.

The lawsuit's lead plaintiff is union organizer and journalist Jonathan Tasisi, who wrote for the Huffington Post from December 2005 until three days after AOL purchased the left-leaning news and blog site for $315 million, on February 6 of this year.

Read more
Former Engadget team joins SB Nation
sbnation-engadget-topolsky-patel

A team of eight former Engadget top editors, including once-managing editor Nilay Patel and ex-editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky, have moved to sports blog network SB Nation to launch a new technology site. The move, first reported by The New York Times this weekend, has been confirmed by Topolsky on his blog.

The editorial team's decision to leave Engadget stems from frustrations with the popular tech site's parent company AOL, which recently purchased the Huffington Post for $315 million and just today fired at least a large chunck of the freelance writers working for the company.

Read more