The Internet Devolution

AOL, the once-mighty Internet giant (OK, raise your hand if you once subscribed), is slashing its work force by 20 percent. That translates to 2,000 jobs lost worldwide, including 750 in Northern Virginia, where the company has long been headquartered. (That, however, will change because AOL is moving its operations to New York.) It’s sad to see so many people lose their jobs all at once, and all because the company couldn’t keep pace with changes in the Internet industry. They moved too slow. In this cartoon, I tinkered with having the first guysaying, “How the mighty have fallen …” so that you didn’t know whether he was talking about the “You’ve got mail!” guy or AOL itself. In the end, I decided that was too cold and unemotional — after all, thousands are losing their livelihoods.