The Death of AIM

By Shea Garner

Think back to middle school or even your early high school years. Your primary method of communication wasn’t Facebook. It wasn’t Twitter nor your new flip-phone: it was AIM.

AOL’s instant messaging software was revolutionary in the way it let the young world of Internet users interact with each other. AIM was the perfect place to connect with your friends. It was a place of expression. Remember those Yellowcard lyrics in your AIM profile? Had you ever even been to Ocean Avenue? No. But that’s okay, because you had AIM.

AIM could even have given you the opportunity to talk to your first “real” BF or GF. Confiding the deepest of secrets from the comfort of your computer chair was a nightly activity for many of the world’s youth during a time when SpongeBob and Rocket Power were significant life figures.

While that may all seem like the past, AOL has just recently dropped the ball on the AIM software. Recently, the company announced the discontinuation of AIM and gave the entire AIM software team the ax. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter, complete with their easy chat features, are the most probable cause of this death, LMFAO-ing their way to expansion and profits.

All the while, AOL’s prominence on the Internet seems to be shrinking. An AOL mail account? BRB! Gmail currently holds the most subscribers for a mail service and Hotmail and private accounts are thriving. The days of dial-up and free-trial discs are over, but one can reminisce about those colorful profiles, textual tricks, and flirty emoticons.

Do you still use AIM? Don’t be afraid to admit it; there are still those who frequently check their Myspace pages, too.