Like Scrooge after discovering the True Spirit Of Christmas, AOL is offering a shiny half-crown (worth $1,056) to the little boy (its employees) as thanks for bringing the prize Turkey from the Poulterer’s this holiday. The $1,000 cash bonus is a celebration of the company’s $1.056 billion patent sale it made earlier this year.
I rarely, if ever, comment on internal AOL stuff but this is a nice gesture at the right time. The company is doing well in the markets and traffic is up for its properties. Patch, the hyperlocal news organization of the future, has shown its true value in the wake of recent news in Connecticut and, in the end, AOL is still trucking even after many wrote it off.
I wish, in my heart of hearts, that “Tiny” Tim Armstrong would appear before the gathered employees and do a quick, Mary-Lou-Retton-style tumbling routine like in Scrooged, but perhaps I’m dreaming too big.
AOL closed at 30.94 today with a high of 31.