AOL continues to struggle following its 2007 implosion that occurred as the company was in the process of a turnaround. In May 2007, nearly six months after he was hired, AOL chief executive Randy Falco gathered his employees to rally the troops, but Falcos remarks failed because employees felt like the new leaders could not appreciate the loss of dignity that AOL had suffered since the disastrous merger with Time Warner in 2000, after which AOL had endured lawsuits and federal sanctions and had let go of two-thirds of its employees as its revenue and subscribers dwindled. To emerge from its troubles, AOL needed charismatic leadership with a strong vision but Falco and his new chief operating officer Ron Grant did not fit the bill. When Falco was hired to replace Jonathan F. Miller, company morale at AOL plummeted and the company started to deteriorate. AOLs turnaround did not materialize and Time Warners shares barely budged even after Microsoft issued a $45 billion offer for AOLs rival, Yahoo!. AOL has still been unable innovate out of its troubled past. AOLs social-networking troubles exemplify the companys interconnected shortcomings. After ascending to CEO in January 2008, Jeff Bewkes made a positive move by saying that he was working to separate AOLs ISP and Internet businesses. Regardless, however, staggering on as an ad business without a strategic partner could eventually lead to a death spiral for AOL. AOL might be for sale but there might not be any buyers, in which case AOLs online-ad business would remain an orphan left to fight for market share in a fiercely competitive sector controlled by Google and a possible Microsoft-Yahoo! union. Now AOLs only hope appears to be if Microsoft and Yahoo! struggle as badly together as AOL and Time Warner have.