Instant Messaging – The ORIGINAL Social Networking

By Sean Fenlon on September 21, 2009

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Seriously.

I give credit to AIM for being the FIRST Social Network as we now have come understand the Internet-based term (perhaps the real credit should go to Ham Radio and CB Radio Operators, but that’s a topic for a separate blog post).

Then there was Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger.

What did all three of these social networks have in common?

• Invite Only
• LIVE
• Presence Awareness
• Synchronous
• Text-based chat progressing over time to multi-media chat

Long before Google Chat, other Social Networks evolved.

• Classmates.com
• Friendster
• Myspace
• Facebook/LinkedIn
• Twitter

Personally, I sliced off LIVE Chat as a separate Social Networking application, but it is really the core. Live chat is THE ULTIMATE social.

Thus far, I have used Trillian to combine all IM accounts into one client, but today they have failed. Today, I am a happy customer of Meebo.

On this one, I am NOT biased.

Bravo Meebo.

SPF

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