History Of Instant Messaging

I decided to dicuss Insatant Messaging being an accessible tool of communication. Instant

Messaging is real-time communication that uses an online client (usually AIM) to allow two or

more people to type messages to each other online and receive an immediate response (as

opposed to email where you must wait for a response.) Instant messaging allows effective and

efficient communication, allowing immediate response, keeping people connected across the

globe on a daily basis.

According to a New eMarketer report, “Worldwide Social Network Users: 2013 Forecast and

Comparative Estimates”, nearly one in every four people worldwide will use social networks.

The number of social users around the world will rise from 1.47 billion in

Among its many uses

and benefits, the internet has totally transformed and simplified the way in which people

communicate with each other around the world.

Instant messaging has been an evolving idea for years, so it’s with great difficulty to pinpoint its

origin. The history of instant messaging as we know it began in the mid-1960s. However, the

phrase “instant messaging” became of common usage in the early 1990s, it was during this time

people started spending more and more time on the internet.

In 1961 creative software developers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MTI),

designed multi-user operating systems such as the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS).

CTSS allowed a group of people (up to 30), in a chat room being logged in at the same time to be

able to send messages and view these messages from each other. Instant messaging is basically a

chat room for just two people, allowing effective and efficient communication where immediate

receipt of acknowledgement or reply occurs.

The first protocols that we could firmly recognized as instant messaging came in 1980s.

In the 2000s, social media has integrated instant messaging within their software application

giving its users the ability to chat with their contacts while in the social network. Google,

Facebook and MySpace are a few of the social networks that have incorporated instant

messaging within their social medium.

In 2005, Google released GoogleTalk (GoogleChat or Gchat). GoogleTalk always appears in the

window of a Gmail user, allowing for easy communication with email contacts. The service

includes text-based messaging, voice calls and video conferences. Most recently GoogleTalk has

been integrated with Google+ allowing users to chat while in the social network.

MySpace developed MySpaceIM in 2006 as an addition to its social platform. MySpace was the

first social network to do so. Users could instant message with friends on their desktops, as well

as online starting in 2009, through MySpaceIM for Web. Later the service was integrated with

Skype.

Facebook released Facebook Chat in 2008, allowing users to instant message one friend or

multiple people through the groups feature while logged into the social network. In