AOL Instant Messenger, once considered as a staple of personal computers will be discontinued coming December 15. The platform helped users in providing instant access to their friends and contacts in “buddy list. It was wildly popular and had about over100 million registered users in 2001.
AOL Instant Messenger to exit December 15
With alternatives like Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger making inroads in communication space, AOL was fast losing its competitive edge. As such, its popularity as a communication tool waned and so the move was anticipated.
If you were a 90’s kid, chances are there was a point in time when AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was a huge part of your life. You likely remember the CD, your first screenname, your carefully curated away messages, and how you organized your buddy lists. Right now you might be reminiscing about how you had to compete for time on the home computer in order to chat with friends outside of school. You might also remember how characters throughout pop culture from “You’ve Got Mail” to “Sex and the City” used AIM to help navigate their relationships. In the late 1990’s, the world had never seen anything like it. And it captivated all of us.
AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed. As a result we’ve made the decision that we will be discontinuing AIM effective December 15, 2017, mentioned Michael Albers, VP of Communications Product at Oath.
The announcement was followed by a tweet including an animated video of AIM’s signature running yellow man wearing a party hat as balloons drifted away and bearing a short and sweet message – ‘All good things come to an end’.
