The technology I choose to research for this assignment is Instant Messaging. “IM” is seen all around us today, but its rich history and evolution are what I find most interesting. Instant messaging was invented in 1971 by computer scientist Murray Turoff. The original purpose of IM was a chat function that would aid the U.S government in case of emergencies, allowing them to contact other government channels more quickly. With this invention, Murray Turoff aimed to have a more real-time method of communicating.
The general public did not start using Instant Messaging until the year 1990 with the invention of major platforms such as AIM, ICQ, and MSN. These platforms were significant in the world and kickstarted people's desire for a quicker, more efficient, and real-time chat function.
AIM was the IM platform known for its “Buddy Lists,” created by engineer Berry Appelman, which essentially was a large contact list that you could chat with online. By the mid-2000s, AIM had dominated the world of Instant Messaging and had the largest share of the market globally.
The first time I had heard of AIM was in the popular TV show, "Penn15" on Hulu. The show takes place in the late '90s, and they show the two main characters getting their AIM accounts and messaging their friends for the first time because it had just come out.
Today, Instant Messaging is still all around us with platforms such as Snapchat, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Instant Direct Messenger, and many more. Because of Instant Messaging, communication changed forever. People can now send messages to each other in other countries and talk across a multitude of platforms. We can now even use IM in gaming when you can chat with other players in real-time.
Instant Messaging has been around for longer than you think, but it just wasn't necessarily for the general population yet. In just 25 years, the world of IM has grown to places unimaginable and will continue to expand for years to come.
Snapchat is arguably the most unique form of Instant messaging because of its purpose to instant message through photos. The purpose of Snapchat is to take a photo and put text on top of the photo. Snapchat has developed and changed a lot since its release in June 2011. Now there is a chat feature where you can have a 1-on-1 conversation
not with photos in Snapchat’s “chat” feature and even create group chats with friends.
The issues that the invention of Instant messaging has solved is an efficient way for people to have communication without all the hassle of phone calls, paging someone, or sending an email. IM has changed the world in the sense that everyone can talk at all moments, regardless of location. The downsides of Instant Messaging is the argument that the world was a happier place and people's relationships were better when they had to make more effort to communicate. Personally, I don't have a Snapchat because I believe our generation uses it as primary communication, and sending photos back and forth is not how I want to communicate.
The Instant Messaging form of communication is not going away and will continue to be around for years to come, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves.
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