AOL Instant Messenger To Sign Off Forever After 20 Years
AOL Instant Messenger has g2g ― forever.
The online messaging app, often referred to as just AIM, will be discontinued on Dec. 15, as Michael Albers, vice president of communications product at Oath, announced Friday.
“AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed,” Albers wrote. “As a result we’ve made the decision that we will be discontinuing AIM effective December 15, 2017.” (AOL is now part of Oath, which owns HuffPost.)
All good things come to an end. On Dec 15, we'll bid farewell to AIM. Thank you to all our users! #AIMemories https://t.co/b6cjR2tSuU pic.twitter.com/V09Fl7EPMx
— AIM (@aim) October 6, 2017
AIM was originally introduced as part of a chat app built into the AOL desktop. It launched on its own in 1997, and remained dominant even when competitors like Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger came along. But by 2011, Facebook and Google’s email chat, known as Google Chat or “Gchat” for short, had gained a significant edge.
“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,” Albers wrote. “You likely remember the CD, your first screenname, your carefully curated away messages, and how you organized your buddy lists.”
“In the late 1990’s, the world had never seen anything like it,” he added. “And it captivated all of us.”
Twitter users almost immediately began sharing their most cherished AIM memories. Others expressed shock that the application is actually still around.
#InMemorAIM In honor of the end of AOL AIM, here's my screen name: ColMiTierra88 (i haven't changed 🇨🇴 )
— Carolina J. Moreno (@CaritoJuliette) October 6, 2017
lmaoo nooooooooo 😩😩😩 had all my baes on AIM https://t.co/Qwv4JSf4Jx
— frank (@yo_itsFrankie) October 6, 2017
Who remembers when "A/S/L" was all the info you needed? #InMemorAIM #AIM
— Veronica (@veronicaraye) October 6, 2017
My AIM name was KNULPREK, which was @greenday's 2nd album, Kerplunk, spelled backwards. Basically sums my high school self up #AIMemories
— Jason Feifer (@heyfeifer) October 6, 2017
My screen name was javamuppet and I regret nothing. #InMemorAIM
— Christy Havranek (@diopter) October 6, 2017
I asked out my first girlfriend in middle school via AIM away message and yes I hate myself
— Brett S. Vergara (@BrettSVergara) October 6, 2017
~**//wHaT's the WoRsT that I CaN sAy, ThInGs are BeTtEr if I sTaY, so LoNg and gOoDnIgHt, sooo lOnG and GoOdNiGhT\\**~ #AIMemories https://t.co/xBEQDbjKxJ
— Jeanne Fennell (@jeanbean23) October 6, 2017
Tbh shocked it was still operating.
— he loox Dead (@its_helixD) October 6, 2017
The end of an era. pic.twitter.com/BBID3LyYsl
— Stephen Hackett (@ismh) October 6, 2017
Tweet us your favorite AIM memories using #InMemorAIM (shout out to HuffPost’s Carolina Moreno for that one).
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.