When there was no Telegram. Where and why did the popular instant messengers and social networks of the past disappear?

Have you also not noticed how smoothly and carefully we came to the point that you only use Telegram every day? Or am I the only one again? After all, in my opinion, just yesterday, sitting down at the computer, I launched QIP to communicate with classmates, Vkontakte in order to check out the new album Bullet for my Valentine, and on Ask.fm to read that there are all sorts of anonymous letters about me.

And today we practically everything, even sometimes listening to music, happens in one single place, where, moreover, there is not (thank God) even an algorithmic news feed, and we read things that interest us, which we do the old fashioned way, by going to their channels.

Whether this is good or bad is an entirely subjective question, and instead of discussing it, I propose to remember the social networks and instant messengers of the past that made us happy every day, and then disappeared.

Do you remember how everyone heard the questions on Ask.fm?

How many people even remember the period of short paper social networks about questions? Yes, it sounds as stupid as it looks… To be honest, but only from the perspective of the current time. But in 2010, the project of two guys from Latvia (which was clearly inspired by a representative of the Formspring service) looked like a creature. extremely unique and fresh, especially if you were anywhere between 14 and 26 years old at the time.

What was the point? It’s about giving people the opportunity to ask questions – including anonymously. And the answers to them at some point began to evoke self-representations, like, look how honest/jocular/mysterious/daring I am on Asuka.

Actually, service of anonymity and death as a result. Because where there is an opportunity to hide oneself, sooner or later trolling of varying degrees of thickness and cruelty appears (Believe me, I know what I’m talking about, and no, I’m not ashamed, it was fun, you won’t prove anything – the service is dead), which sooner or later someone will loudly call bullying. And advertisers really don’t like this.

In general, since 2014, Ask.fm was sold in America in order to somehow reveal the consequences of the sagging advertising cash register, but this did not help. The competitors, whose names you all know, developed too quickly and actively. The result was the closure of the service in the fall of 2024. And yes, I know it was a Russian clone called Sprashivay.ru. But we loudly ridiculed him in the hall for his use.

We didn’t use it much, but it left its mark. OBJECTIVE (AOL)

Nominally, AOL Instant Messenger, launched in 1997, can be considered one of the first instant messengers in modern history. Internet. Just imagine, because at one time it had such and such functionality: you could add other people to your contact list and see when your interlocutors are online. The messenger also supported file transfer and the ability to create group chats.

However, the messenger had a serious flaw that led to its demise. AIM was not used encryption for data transmissionthat messages were vulnerable to interception and reading by outsiders. AIM users were often victims of phishing and spam, and its protocols had weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers to intercept information or gain unauthorized access to accounts. But the competitor, ICQ, had more security than usual. The SMS protocol, which was gaining popularity in the 2000s, was also much more accessible.

As a result, AOL’s interest in the development of AIM dropped over time, and it was gently removed in 2017, although almost no one used it in the mid-2000s.

No one ever got into the club.

The situation in the club is such that when you mention it, they look at you with questions: “What is this anyway?” or ironically remarks, “Oh, I wish I could get here.” But few people even remember (although it was some 5 years ago) what it was all about.

Clubhouse is an application for mass calls that appeared before this feature was introduced In all other popular messengers, and most importantly, the release came out right in the midst of the covid pandemic.

The social network very quickly enveloped itself in a thick fog of a place “not for everyone.” This is because, firstly, at first it was an iOS exclusive, and secondly, initially it was impossible to get there without an invite, and the most interesting thing is that Clubhouse initially did not have text messages. Only voice communication in audio rooms. All three features were literally idolized by both journalists and ordinary users. The attention of media figures like Elon Musk only increased the popularity of the application.

As a result the elitism of Clubhouse ruined. Because all of the above features with closed access, exclusivity for iOS, etc. were gradually changed. And the release on the popular platform was a success, and the text was written, and all that. And in 2021, there was a large-scale data leak. And the feature with audio rooms was actually stolen from Twitter, which is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.

And although the social network is still nominally alive, it doesn’t have even one percent of its former hype left.

The complex and sad fate of ICQ

In 1996, Israeli startup students revolutionized the world and set a new direction for people to connect around the world. Internet. People who grew up in the 2000s remember well what ICQ is and how important it was to have your UIN (unique authentic number) by heart.

And to be honest… Everyone has already told me everything. First half of the 2000s there were simply no sane analogues in ICQ for partial functionality, convenience and coverage at the factory availability. And towards the end of the era they came to social networks, which first of all offered more opportunities, and then the first instant messengers of the modern era, which were ahead of ICQ in speed.

As a result, they tried to save the brand by… selling to Russia (the lucky owner was Mail.ru Group), where ICQ lived from 2010 to 2024. year. The closer we get to the closing date, the more people raise their eyebrows in surprise when they find out that the messenger is still alive and, in fact, one of the first to come up with text transcripts of voice messages. However, on June 26, 2024, the project was finally closed.

Time has put everything in its place

Not long ago I caught myself thinking that Telegram in its current state has practically replaced all social networks for me. Should you listen to music? There are special channels in which you either put albums natively, or hyperlinks to everything are provided from the panel. available resources. Communication? Yes, here you go, a set of chats with loved ones. News and background content? Thanks to Durov, there is still no feed or algorithms in TG, I go in the old fashioned way and read what I want, but it’s not so popular, it turned out to be cooler than I thought.

I am leading this entire passage to the fact that in the world everything in one way or another wins over universality, and not the limiting hype at the start or the attached cult of something. That’s why Telegram, which knows how to adapt to modern trends, is alive, but Clubhouse and Periscope, along with ICQ, are not. A universal example that can be applied in many aspects of our lives.

I am voicing this thought to you. Have a good day!