AOL Inc. said Monday that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone will become a “social impact” strategic adviser for the company, as part of its broader integration with online news site The Huffington Post.
Stone will work on cause-based initiatives, such as creating a system to help people volunteer in their communities and a video series featuring companies committed to philanthropy.
The internet entrepreneur is well-known in Silicon Valley as one of Twitter’s chief evangelists and most prominent spokespeople.
In a statement Monday, Stone — who is staying at Twitter — said he was partnering with The Huffington Post in order to “rally companies to think about new ways of doing business.”
AOL also announced another batch of new hires to its Huffington Post Media Group, which houses the company’s news entertainment, local and other content. Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, is the group’s president and editor-in-chief.
John Montorio, who has worked as an editor at the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, is joining as culture and entertainment editor, and Howard Fineman, an analyst for NBC and MSNBC, will become editorial director of the group.
The staff additions come after AOL closed its $315 million deal to acquire online news and commentary site The Huffington Post last week as part of a push to bulk up on content and drive advertising. In attempts to drive the turnaround of its business, AOL said last week that it was cutting 950 jobs, or about 20 percent of its work force.
This weekend, the editor-in-chief at AOL technology blog Engadget, Josh Topolsky, said he was leaving the company.
Consumers will start seeing some elements of integration between the two brands on Monday with a new feature on the homepages of AOL and The Huffington Post that will highlight the most popular articles from each property. The Huffington Post also will start displaying a new splashy ad format created by AOL and content from its local website, Patch.
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