AOL shutting down AOL pictures, BlueString, and XDrive

July 25, 2008 – 11:58 pm – No Comment

AOL will be shutting down AOL pictures, one of the oldest photo sharing sites on the web, BlueString, a service that stores photos, video, and music, and XDrive, a site which AOL bought in 2005 where you can backup information from your computer to the internet. While AOL is trying to sell at least XDrive, they are all expected to be shut down by the end of 2008.

AOL is shutting down these services to focus AOL as an advertising business rather than a business that offers several different services. According to Executive Vice President Kevin Conroy, AOL wants to make sure every product impacts their bottom line.

AOL should shut these services down if it isn’t doing anything for them. With other hosting sites like Photobucket or Flickr for pictures and with the cost of portable data storage (like flash drives) coming down, these sites are becoming obsolete.

*Image courtsey of BlueString.com