AOL Instant Messenger to sign off

AOL Instant Messenger has set up an away message -- permanently.

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The messaging service, also called AIM, is shutting down Dec. 15.

AOL Instant Messenger, which is now owned by Verizon Communications Inc., brought instant messaging into the mainstream by becoming one of the first chat platforms to gain widespread adoption on desktop computers, allowing users to instantly communicate with one another over the internet.

The platform, launched in 1997, helped usher in a new shorthand lingo, such as "lol" for laugh out loud. AIM was particularly known for its "buddy list," which let users know if their friends and contacts were available to chat, and being early to use emoticons in messages with its roster of built-in smiley faces.

"AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed," the messaging service posted on its website.

Users on social media lamented its end, even though many have since moved to other platforms. AIM is "more of a symbol than anything else," said Thomas Husson, an analyst with Forrester who follows emerging technology. "It's the end of an era for the first generation of internet users."

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Barry Appelman, the technologist at AOL who first thought up the buddy list and successfully pushed for the platform to launch beyond AOL's paying subscribers, said the platform brought instant messaging to the public.

"There are very few technologies that you can look at that last more than 20 years. Twenty years is a good run," Mr. Appelman said. "Its clones live on around the world."


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