Everyone in the Web world loves to take potshots at AOL, but the fact of the matter is that they control a huge audience and the largest ad network on the Web and mobile after Google’s adsense.

What’s AOL strategy for turning that audience into dollars? Well, it’s not to build a portal (they have one of those that’s losing ground). AOL is just the latest media giant to devolve the portal into it’s hyper-targeted parts. But, this niche strategy has been a part of the toolbox of content partnerships for more than two years. AOL has now given the strategy a name, MediaGlow, and officially adopted the trappings of a formal vertical network.

Read more about it in this NYTimes.com article.