How AOL Instant Messenger Shaped Today’s Instant Messaging Communication Efforts
Being able to send a message to friends, family, companies, and brands through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., and get a speedy response is what people anticipate these days. AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) essentially paved the road for direct messaging (DMs) in those various social media platforms in the current world.
Just think about it; If you could not send a direct message on social media platforms, the platform’s experience would be entirely different. It is almost unimaginable for some.
Can you recall the last time you could not send a brand direct message on Facebook or Instagram about your order and did not get an almost immediate response? Well, in reality, it really wasn’t that long ago.
The direct message (DM) feature stems from the iconic AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). AIM became extremely popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s; in 2001 the feature had over 100 million users (Romano, 2017). AIM was the first instant messaging form of communication and was free to download for users and non-users of AOL. Although, after 20 years of service, the chat platform shut down in 2017 (Chung, 2017).
I do not remember AIM being super popular in my generation, but I remember my older sister being addicted to it. She was constantly messaging her friends. For her, AIM became her primary source of communication.
AIM created the first taste of the interactive world we see today, and we often take it for granted. As Aja Romano explains the first taste, “ It was part of a cultural moment where its level of virtual interactivity was still new and exciting: when making friends on the internet was still a scary and exhilarating experience; when chatting with a crush for hours online was often easier than talking to them at school the next day; when that familiar sound of a door opening as a friend arrived online could perk your interest, and that familiar “new message” Ping! could trigger real emotions; when a carefully chosen username or a carefully chosen quote, in a carefully selected font, set to serve as your “Away message” could say more about your personality than anything else.” (Romano, 2017, para. 7).
Today’s most popular platforms include WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat/Wixin, Instagram, and Twitter. To be exact, WhatsApp has 2 billion users, followed by Facebook Messenger, consisting of 1.3 billion users (Eerdekens, 2021).
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Creating a social media account is tailored to show who you are, what you like, your interests, hobbies, and what you care about, just like when AIM first came out and let users customize their profiles.
Compared to AIM, instant messaging, or social media platforms that offer that feature, it shows your “personality.” It gives users the excitement, instant responses, and direct answers they seek, especially regarding customer support from brands and companies.
In fact, 53% of users today would rather receive customer service through email, web chats, text, or socials than over-the-phone support, and 31% said that it was important for text options to be a must for customer support (Karl, 2023).
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) helped shape today’s social media instant messaging communication efforts that we, as users, often take for granted and expect that option to be available. Whether it be to message our friends, family members, or even customer support about our order from a brand or company, instant messaging will be a primary source of communication in 2023 and will continue to strengthen in the future.
References
Chung, J. (2017, October 6). AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) is Shutting Down After 20-Years. Retrieved from TECHEBLOG: https://www.techeblog.com/aim-aol-instant-messenger-is-shutting-down-after-20-years/
Eerdekens, L. (2021, May 20). 5 Reasons Why Messaging Should Be Part of Your Social Media Strategy. Retrieved from Hootsuite Blog: https://blog.hootsuite.com/why-messaging-belongs-in-social-strategy/
Karl. (2023, January 7). The Most Significant Social Media Marketing Trends for 2023. Retrieved from Dreamgrow: https://www.dreamgrow.com/social-media-marketing-trends/
Romano, A. (2017, December 15). Saying goodbye to AIM, the instant messenger that changed how we communicate. Retrieved from Vox: https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/15/16780418/aim-aol-instant-messenger-shutdown-cultural-impact
