4 ms·

ICQ seemed to struggle with competing with MSN Messanger and AOL Instant Messanger, despite the first mover advantage. While those on the net (at least in the U

ICQ seemed to struggle with competing with MSN Messanger and AOL Instant Messanger, despite the first mover advantage. While those on the net (at least in the UK) in the late 90s has ICQ, MSN and AIM seemed more popular with latecomers just a couple of years later. I guess Network effects aren't as strong when you have a rapidly growing market. It was 20 years ago, but my lasting memory is that they went down the road of piling more and more adverts into the client, which certainly turned me off. That said I never had an AIM account and I rarely used MSN messenger. There was something about that number though that makes it stick in my mind 20 years after I stopped using it. Perhaps it was a sign of both the time (when we remembered phone numbers) and my age (late teens), it was my first "identifier" that was mine - not the house phone number, and it predated widespread mobile numbers by a few years.

PedroBatista 6y ago
I remember using ICQ and not liking the whole experience mainly because the UI/UX was full of clutter and was more complex than it should be for an IM program, but I used it because there was nothing better. Then arrived MSN and the "normies"/people new to the "Internet" started using it in massive numbers, so I had to switch. It crashed more than it should but the UI/UX was more focused, so it was better ( not by a lot ). Also the whole ICQ number thing, it was on the wrong side of History and Hotmail addresses killed any remaining hope.
- hansel_der 6y ago
  i vaguely remember seeing ads in the mainline icq client which instantly led me to a fix (aka tool to remove them). alternative multi-im clients followed shortly and i've never had any problem with them. still remember my icq number althou i haven't used it in a decade.
- Semaphor 6y ago
  And here I miss the simplicity that old ICQ had [0]. For a MUC I’m fine with the Discord/Slack-style interface, but for a messenger, that is what I want (and luckily still have with Gajim [1] for XMPP). [0]: https://assets.pcmag.com/media/images/6564-icq-2001b.gif?width=238&height=386 https://assets.pcmag.com/media/images/6564-icq-2001b.gif?wid... [1]: https://gajim.org/ https://gajim.org/
Semaphor 6y ago
> ICQ seemed to struggle with competing with MSN Messanger and AOL Instant Messanger, despite the first mover advantage. Not in Germany. ICQ was the messenger. MSN and AIM were something that sometimes popped up but had no real relevance for most people. I knew more people in school who used IRC than MSN or AIM.

PedroBatista 6y ago

I remember using ICQ and not liking the whole experience mainly because the UI/UX was full of clutter and was more complex than it should be for an IM program, but I used it because there was nothing better. Then arrived MSN and the "normies"/people new to the "Internet" started using it in massive numbers, so I had to switch. It crashed more than it should but the UI/UX was more focused, so it was better ( not by a lot ). Also the whole ICQ number thing, it was on the wrong side of History and Hotmail addresses killed any remaining hope.

hansel_der 6y ago
i vaguely remember seeing ads in the mainline icq client which instantly led me to a fix (aka tool to remove them). alternative multi-im clients followed shortly and i've never had any problem with them. still remember my icq number althou i haven't used it in a decade.
Semaphor 6y ago
And here I miss the simplicity that old ICQ had [0]. For a MUC I’m fine with the Discord/Slack-style interface, but for a messenger, that is what I want (and luckily still have with Gajim [1] for XMPP). [0]: https://assets.pcmag.com/media/images/6564-icq-2001b.gif?width=238&height=386 https://assets.pcmag.com/media/images/6564-icq-2001b.gif?wid... [1]: https://gajim.org/ https://gajim.org/

Semaphor 6y ago

> ICQ seemed to struggle with competing with MSN Messanger and AOL Instant Messanger, despite the first mover advantage. Not in Germany. ICQ was the messenger. MSN and AIM were something that sometimes popped up but had no real relevance for most people. I knew more people in school who used IRC than MSN or AIM.