Ask HN : What killed ICQ? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#31

Post by Truk » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 8:05 PM UTC

I still log into both my AIM acct and my 6 digit ICQ acct. I have no friends on ICQ any more, but I refuse to let it go.

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#32

Post by transburgh » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 8:18 PM UTC

jm4 wrote: post #3

I think it was a combination of things. If I remember correctly, AIM was an AOL subscription exclusive in the beginning so only the dopes on there were using it. The cool kids were on ICQ and I think there were very few AOL users willing or able to use a separate chat client. Anyway, AOL eventually opened up AIM to everyone and people started using it. It was easier. AIM used screennames. ICQ was cool because you cou…

It was the opposite where I grew up. AOL was the cool kids and ICQ were the dopes. Hence ICQ falling away.

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#33

Post by g1rlb0t » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 8:19 PM UTC

siong1987 wrote: post #5

jm4 wrote: post #3

I think it was a combination of things. If I remember correctly, AIM was an AOL subscription exclusive in the beginning so only the dopes on there were using it. The cool kids were on ICQ and I think there were very few AOL users willing or able to use a separate chat client. Anyway, AOL eventually opened up AIM to everyone and people started using it. It was easier. AIM used screennames. ICQ was cool because you cou…

I know why you remember that. Because you have a "eight" digit ICQ number. People at that time used to think that shorter ICQ ID was cooler.

967599 ;)

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#34

Post by gojomo » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 8:36 PM UTC

siong1987 wrote: post #5

jm4 wrote: post #3

I think it was a combination of things. If I remember correctly, AIM was an AOL subscription exclusive in the beginning so only the dopes on there were using it. The cool kids were on ICQ and I think there were very few AOL users willing or able to use a separate chat client. Anyway, AOL eventually opened up AIM to everyone and people started using it. It was easier. AIM used screennames. ICQ was cool because you cou…

I know why you remember that. Because you have a "eight" digit ICQ number. People at that time used to think that shorter ICQ ID was cooler.

161192

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#35

Post by WALoeIII » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 8:50 PM UTC

114248050

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#36

Post by mattmichielsen » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 9:03 PM UTC

dan_sim wrote: post #26

gmcerveny wrote: post #19

The default audible keyboard...

Now I remember... all the sounds were ON by default. The "oh-oh" everytime someone sent you a message... so agressing...

I'm totally going to set that as all the default windows sounds on my coworker's computer who used to be my ICQ contact years ago.

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#37

Post by chops » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 9:07 PM UTC

About 3 years ago, my 6-digit ICQ number got hijacked without any way of getting it back (I had created it with a geocities.com email address). That was when I stopped using it.

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#38

Post by volida » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 9:11 PM UTC

- Windows MSN Messenger - Network effects - Hesitation to adapt the product

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#39

Post by knuton » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 9:18 PM UTC

guruz wrote: post #13

As a German, I would not call it killed. It's very poplar here. But I think most of my friends use things like Miranda or Gaim/Pidgin and not the bloat-client. Even the lesser tech-savy ones. They got it installed by the nerds ;)

I think ICQ is still the instant messenger in Germany, judging from personal experience.

Wikipedia has statistics on different services’ user bases: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messaging#User_base

Re: Ask HN : What killed ICQ?

#40

Post by fimblo » Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 9:40 PM UTC

their gawd-ugly homepage.