How AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) Truly Changed the Game
Nowadays, the idea of not having the ability to be instantly connected to someone over the internet is unfathomable. From direct messages (DMs) on social media to messaging platforms, the concept of the instant message is integral to our social experiences now.
Could you imagine Instagram or Twitter without DMs? I used both before that feature was available and now I can’t remember how I functioned on the apps without it.
Do you remember not being able to directly message a brand on Facebook or Instagram to get an answer about your order?
It seems like that was such a long time ago when in reality, it wasn’t.
This feature stems from the iconic AOL Instant Messenger or AIM. The chat client shut down in 2017 after 20 years of connecting people directly in chat boxes and sending away messages. Started in 1997, it was free to anyone to download, including those who did not use AOL. AIM changed the communication game, creating new ways to speak, from new words to an expectation of instant communication and constant connectedness between users. It was incredibly widespread in use and paved the way for in-platform messaging.
AIM defined my middle school years. Before it was convenient or allowed by my parents to text my friends constantly, AIM was the true form of communication. I was constantly connected to my friends through instant messaging. I spent hours finding the best away messages to post, hoping that if I found the exact right one my crush would send me a message declaring his love for me.
AIM was the original iMessage, the original DM. Getting someone’s AIM screen name was the equivalent of getting their number for my middle school. Its usefulness in creating the direct message paved the way for the DM to be implemented as a feature on later social media sites. As I would say now, AIM walked so that DMs could run.
DMs have become part of our culture. They’ve become a source of humor, bonding, and ever customer service. The success of direct messaging as a feature to keep users on a specific platform truly started with AIM. Even the interface of AIM has had a great influence on the designs of apps meant for communication. The “Buddy List” was a list that held all the contacts added to your account presented in a way that made sending a certain person a message easy. This was where the contact lists on the messaging feature of social platforms came from. The use of apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Kik to communicate globally through the internet with or without a smartphone is due to the impact AIM has had on communication. It even led the way for group chat programs like Slack to create efficient workspace communications and project management.
AIM created a direct channel from one person to another using the internet before texting and smartphones were truly accessible. This has given way to the use of direct connections for brands and influencers to build and manage relationships directly. It is the reason customer service can be effective in social media.
To me, if AIM is mentioned, I am immediately brought back to 13-years-old. My friends and I would schedule a time to chat on AIM after school, and we’d talk for hours. I learned some of the deepest things about my friends because of the nature of AIM. I shared stories I wrote that I thought were incredible, but definitely weren’t, and was encouraged as a writer all because AIM allowed me to send them quickly, direct to my friend. All in all, AOL Instant Messanger left a legacy that is astounding. It laid the base for other social networking sites to stand on and flourish, all because it created a channel for direct person-to-person communication that was fast, easy to use, and accessible to everyone. Although the original AIM will forever send its away message, it lives on in new forms like AIM Phoenix, other messaging apps, and in the hearts of those who used it.
