Emoji’s – ubiquitous today – had yet to be invented, the smash-hit Nokia 3310 – fondly remembered by many as their first mobile phone – didn’t arrive until the year 2000. In 1995, there were just 10 million mobile phone users worldwide (this would rocket to 100 million by 1998). First, bear in mind that the very first SMS – Short Message Service – text was sent in 1992, by a developer working for Vodaphone. To put things into perspective it’s worth considering the state of mobile communications in 1996 when ICQ was launched. In these respects, ICQ was genuinely ground-breaking, and fast became extremely popular. Where ICQ differed from other IM solutions of the time is that it was the first to truly focus on people wanting one to one conversations, and to use the individual user account format we are so familiar today. The name is a clever take on the phrase ‘I Seek You’, and the platform was developed by an Israeli company, Mirabilis, in 1996. While not the very first instant messenger (IM) service, there is no argument that it was ICQ that set the standards, and that yielded influence that is still seen in today’s IM services. Yet, it all began more recently than you might remember. It is now so prevalent – and taken for granted – that it is no surprise it’s difficult for youngsters to imagine a world without an instant message service. These days, a glance around in the street, on public transport, or anywhere there is a crowd will see many people engaged in texting on their smartphones.

It’s a sobering reminder of just how far social media technology has come in the past few decades. She could not believe that not only did we not have such things as ‘instant messaging’ services, but mobile phones were very much a thing of the future. Social Media Archives - What Was Chatting on ICQ Like?Įnjoying a conversation with a 21-year-old niece recently, I was reminded of how very different the world is now when compared to that my 21-year-old self grew up in.

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