Definitely ICQ. The best instant messenger, revolutionary for its time. It was reliable and had many very nice features. Then, Microsoft came with its shitty MSN Messenger, and it marked the end of an era.
And Geocities of course. I still remember the address of my “personal home page”.
I remember when there was a whole bunch of competing IM platforms, and apps like Adium and Trillian that would let a person manage multiple platforms in one app. I also remember being ahead of the curve and leaving that client running 24/7 so people could message me whenever and I would get it when I got home. Too far ahead though, mostly because IM wasn’t ubiquitous enough so there was like 3 people that I’d actually interact with regularly. Then IM kind of disappeared when text messaging took off, and finally came back when smartphones meant you could get those IMs anywhere.
I primarily used AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for those not aware) and instead of Trillian, I used Pidgin. I remember leaving it on 24/7 and putting up zany away messages when I wasn’t present at the PC.
Definitely ICQ. The best instant messenger, revolutionary for its time. It was reliable and had many very nice features. Then, Microsoft came with its shitty MSN Messenger, and it marked the end of an era.
And Geocities of course. I still remember the address of my “personal home page”.
I still remember my ICQ number after like 25 years (21773913).
37571887
40961596
2744548! I still log in once every few years to see all my contacts who are offline!
I remember when there was a whole bunch of competing IM platforms, and apps like Adium and Trillian that would let a person manage multiple platforms in one app. I also remember being ahead of the curve and leaving that client running 24/7 so people could message me whenever and I would get it when I got home. Too far ahead though, mostly because IM wasn’t ubiquitous enough so there was like 3 people that I’d actually interact with regularly. Then IM kind of disappeared when text messaging took off, and finally came back when smartphones meant you could get those IMs anywhere.
I primarily used AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for those not aware) and instead of Trillian, I used Pidgin. I remember leaving it on 24/7 and putting up zany away messages when I wasn’t present at the PC.