History of Social Media, Integrated, & Inbound Marketing Thought Paper: AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger was released in 1997 and had a fascinating history as the service which taught the world how to chat online. Most people don’t realize AIM is where we learned to abbreviate words such as LOL and OMG, which eventually begot a whole new language. The engineers who developed AIM were not supposed to build a communication product and the idea was turned down by AOL management; particularly as the company executives were not interested in offering a “free” product (Jowitt, 2019). As with all innovative technology ideas, it exploded in the marketplace, despite AOL management’s initial lack of interest. At one point AIM had over 18 million users.
The competition began to take notice AIM was a popular messaging product and sought ways to take market share away from AOL, whose management finally realized the benefit of offering AIM. For many people, AIM was the first text-based communication they used and the possibilities seemed endless. At one point, AIM was reported to have 52% of the online messaging market share in the United States. Eventually, other products such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter and WhatsApp replaced AIM, which ultimately ceased development in 2006. According to some tech experts, AIM’s downfall began when it decided not to collaborate with other companies (Panko, 2017).
The remarkable distribution of AIM and how AOL created accessibility came from friends sharing with friends and the Buddy List, which allowed users to determine which of their friends were online. The impact of AIM in the social networking world was far reaching. For example, Mark Zuckerberg said he built Facebook’s original chat feature based on how AIM was designed. Many iconic features such the Buddy List, online activity status, ability to chat one on one or in a group, all originated from AIM. Additional AIM features allowed for customized icons, personalized profiles and chatbots (Jowitt, 2019). Apple and Google reportedly used similar designs in some of their earlier features.
In 2017, Mark Zuckerberg wrote on a Facebook post, “AOL Instant Messenger was a defining part of my childhood. It helped me understand internet communication intuitively and emotionally in a way that people just a few years older may have only considered intellectually” (Sklar, 2020).
In a further description, listed in a blog post at the end of AIM’s reign in the social media network, Michael Albers, vice president of communications product at Oath (Verizon’s corporate merger of AOL and Yahoo), said, “AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed” (Panko, 2017).
I chose AOL AIM for my Thought Paper, primarily because I remember using it in 1997, but also because of the impact it has had on social communications. Almost by default, AIM became the cornerstone for social media. Considering methods of Inbound Marketing we learned during the class lecture, AIM provided a method to attract customers to purchase their product without having to go into a physical store. Although many people used a CD to download the service, they were still drawn to the product based on online communication and word of mouth. As the benefits of Inbound Marketing indicate, lead generation and social media marketing are important methods to bring in business. Initially AIM was able to delight their customers, by providing a service they couldn’t get elsewhere. The design was completely customer focused, as it saved time and inevitably money for the users and their companies.
The Customer Value Proposition (CVP) of AIM must have seemed limitless, as it was the right product, for the target customers, at an acceptable price (initially free), and based on their perception of the value. Where AOL failed to act was not looking forward to changing technology and competitive product offering, which ultimately caused its downfall.
References
Class Lecture Notes
Jowitt, T. (2019, November 5). Tales In Tech History: AOL Instant Messenger (AIM): Silicon UK Tech News. Silicon UK. https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-marketing/socialmedia/aol-aim-history-226431/2.
Panko, B. (2017, October 6). The Sharp Rise and Steep Descent of AOL Instant Messenger. Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pioneering-aol-instant-messenger-end-180965152/.
Sklar, J. (2020, April 2). AOL Instant Messenger Made Social Media What It Is Today. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/12/14/67582/aol-instant-messenger-made-social-media-what-it-is-today/.
