The Art of the AIM Away Message
Cheers to you, AOL Instant Messenger, we pretty much knew thee.
We raise our glasses to you, dear AIM. After 20 years of service (probably only seven of those in mass popularity), you were really too good for us. Because, hell, we didn’t really know what to do on you, other than ask Richard from geometry what the homework was or have the worried (if not satisfied sense of importance) of typing, “POS.”
What did we use you for? When you came out, reality television was just a gleam in some producer’s eye, the news cycle was at a comfortable 24-hours, and celebrity gossip still just lived in the tabloids at the supermarket. If you wanted to talk to someone, you could ring them up. And if you wanted to get to know them, well, you could forward one of those surveys circulating our inboxes. Remember those? The ones we filled out so extensively, sharing everything from our pet’s names to our favorite colors— these were really important surveys. We even personalized the text and background color.
To be fair, we were on an online journey for e-self discovery.
But you AIM? You were the best when we were away . . . or when we said we were at least. Akin to now trusty Facebook status or Tweet, you gave us the stage to express our tween individuality while not having to be present for actual conversation.
The correct use of an obscure lyric from a classic rock band your parents listened to, like The Eagles, or even a refrain from the latest Avril Lavigne lent an air of worldliness or at least edge to your pristine, young self.
Artistic, sweeping uses of emoticons— depending on scale, realism, and adorableness showed your creativity. Maybe not in words but at least in scope of imagination— who knew so many 0s stacked in such a way could make a really cool looking tiger.
(ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
Inspiring Dr. Seuss lyrics respectably harkened back to childhood while still serving emotional growth, slight quirkiness, and fine, maybe an unwillingness to move onto boys and makeup just yet.
Quotes from your favorite WB prime time drama — but not exact quotes but who could fact check you, really?— shows your step into maturity, and how cool your parents were because they ignored all that mamby-pamby talk surrounding Dawson’s Creek’s blatant talk about penis sizes*.
*Yep. In the pilot. That’s why parents were up in arms.
Acronyms showed how little you cared, but also how cool you were that you didn’t care. Too cool to spell things out. Too busy and cool you had to use a short hand that not everyone was jive to. You’ve been on BRB for forever. You either have young pre-teen constipation, which isn’t a thing, or you really didn’t give a shit. You were just that pre-pubescently cool. You’re probably an Instagram influencer now.
Thank you for opening the door to our obnoxious selves, AIM. We owe you so much.
