What AOL meant to Washington’s tech industry

AOL may have moved its headquarters from the Washington (DC) area long ago, but business leaders in the region say the media company has long been one of the chief forces that shaped the region’s technology ethos. The announcement that Verizon is set to buy the company that brought dial-up Internet to millions of Americans is the latest chapter in the online giant’s storied history.

The journey began in 1985, when co-founders Jim Kimsey and Steve Case set up a company named Quantum Computer Services in Northern Virginia to offer online services. Less than a decade later, Quantum had renamed itself America Online and the company grew rapidly, helping ordinary folks connect over the Internet. The “Welcome! You’ve got mail” chime became a cultural phenomenon, and millions used the company’s Instant Messenger service to chat back and forth. As AOL grew, it quickly gobbled up a host of upstarts until, in 2001, it made its biggest splash, taking over the venerable media giant Time Warner. AOL used its high-flying stock to purchase the media conglomerate, but the marriage between old and new media proved to be a troubled one. “AOL has been a transformational engine for technology and innovation throughout our region,” said Bobbie Kilberg, president and chief executive of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Steve Case went on to found Revolution LLC, an investment firm whose mission is to find and support grass-roots entrepreneurs, including those in the Washington region. Revolution is an investor in 1776, the DC-based tech incubator. AOL alumni went on to fuel a new wave of businesses in the region. Former LivingSocial chief executive Tim O’Shaughnessy is an AOL veteran. So is Lisa Hook, who leads Sterling (VA)-based telecommunications company Neustar. AOL’s presence in the Washington region today is made up of about 1,300 employees who work primarily in the company’s engineering and technical divisions. Baltimore (MD) is home to AOL’s advertising division, a legacy of the company’s 2004 purchase of Advertising.com and a key asset in Verizon’s purchase of AOL.