Soon, the service attracted millions of regular users, and by the mid-2000s, AIM users alone comprised 52 percent of the online instant messaging market.ĭavid Pierce of Wireddetails some of AIM’s forward-thinking abilities, like allowing for custom icons, personalized profiles, and chatbots-not to mention aiding and abetting the rise of 'internet speak.' “AIM taught me how to LOL, and the subtle difference between ROFL and ROFLMAO. Its quick ascent wasn't so surprising-AIM filled a niche for easy, instant and casual communication, something the rise of the Internet age seemed to promise. On December 15, AOL Instant Messenger will be no more, Michael Albers, vice president of communications product at Oath (Verizon's corporate merger of AOL and Yahoo), announced in a new blog post.ĪIM, as it was often abbreviated, launched quietly in May 1997 as a product created by developers Barry Appelman, Eric Bosco and Jerry Harris and several other of the company's engineers without the permission of their bosses or the company at large, Jason Abbruzzese wrote in a history of the platform for Mashablein 2014. As the dominant internet provider of the decade, America Online had built a business around charging fees for all of its services, and the free cost of AIM baffled the company.Īfter the messaging service ballooned in popularity, however, the free product was, reluctantly, allowed to continue on.

In the crowded space of iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, one of the ancient forebearers of the messaging technology is set to fade away.

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