About this episode
This episode explores the history and impact of AOL Instant Messenger, detailing its creation, rise, and eventual decline.
AOL Instant Messenger was, for years, one of the very best things on the internet. Before iMessage and WhatsApp, before Twitter and Facebook, AIM was simply how people talked to each other online. Maybe it was how you casually chatted up your crush; maybe it was how you and your banking coworkers got deals done. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Victoria Song, and author and journalist Kyle Chayka tell the story of the best messaging app ever — how it was created despite the wishes of AOL executives, how it took over the web, and why it didn’t last. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Hosts: David Pierce, Victoria Song
Guest: Kyle Chayka
Topics covered
- AOL Instant Messenger
- messaging apps
- internet history
- communication
- technology evolution
Keywords
- AIM
- AOL Instant Messenger
- messaging
- internet
- communication
- technology
- history
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: AOL, AOL Instant Messenger, The Verge, Twitter, Facebook, iMessage, WhatsApp
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