What happened to ICQ?

July 11, 2007 By

Danny asks “Why did we all stop using ICQ?”

I’ll tell you why (I was a very early user of ICQ, which was the first instant messaging client that I remembered seeing. It was sold to AOL eventually where it never got best of class status, always remaining spiritually behind AOL’s other IM client, AIM).

For me IM started sucking more and more until it got to the point that today I can’t use it.

Why? Everytime I start it up I get a flurry of messages. Unlike Twitter IM has an expectation that you’ll answer it sometime soon.

But that’s my problem and I’m an outlier. So why did everyone else stop using ICQ?

It got too cluttered and stopped being developed. In 1996 it seemed like there was a new feature every few days. At some point after 2001 it stopped seeing radical improvements.

I think they were scared of taking stuff out which people liked, too, which made it hard to improve.

Today Facebook and Twitter (and Pownce and Jaiku) have totally replaced IM for me.

How about for you?

PS my ICQ number was 165361. That means I was the 65,361′st person to use it. I haven’t turned it on for years, though.

Filed Under: 1

http://hellyeahbitch.com/ Mike Flynn

Looking back…I think I had an ICQ number before my 2638950 and I thought I started with a 1, but I forgot it and had to get the current number…
http://hellyeahbitch.com Mike Flynn

Looking back…I think I had an ICQ number before my 2638950 and I thought I started with a 1, but I forgot it and had to get the current number…
http://martingordon.org/blog/ Martin Gordon

I think part of it might have to do with ICQ’s totally non-user friendly “user names”. Back in the early days of IM, IIRC, there were no buddy icons or even rich text. AIM came along and allowed us the least bit of individuality in choosing screen names and that helped a ton. Not only with self-expression (however limited), but also with personal branding and how much easier it was to remember screen names of a random number (though buddy lists almost make this a non-issue).

It also helped that AIM allowed interoperability with AOL much sooner than ICQ did.
http://martingordon.org/blog/ Martin Gordon

I think part of it might have to do with ICQ’s totally non-user friendly “user names”. Back in the early days of IM, IIRC, there were no buddy icons or even rich text. AIM came along and allowed us the least bit of individuality in choosing screen names and that helped a ton. Not only with self-expression (however limited), but also with personal branding and how much easier it was to remember screen names of a random number (though buddy lists almost make this a non-issue).

It also helped that AIM allowed interoperability with AOL much sooner than ICQ did.
http://genwhynot.wordpress.com/ Celeste

I wouldn’t even know how to look up my number. Being 26 now, when ICQ came out I was about 13. My friends and I used it all the time and even were connecting with people we didn’t know. It definately got scrapped under the rug once aol IM came out. I’ve been using aol since about 15, with the same name infact. I definately agree to the pain of using it now as the many ad screens that come up, along with the new email they forced everyone into, that sends junk automatically. I have actually found serenity in using meebo. It is webbased, has user name abilities for aol, gmail, msn, jabber and even now ICQ, all at the same time. Now it should add in Twitter soon too.
http://genwhynot.wordpress.com Celeste

I wouldn’t even know how to look up my number. Being 26 now, when ICQ came out I was about 13. My friends and I used it all the time and even were connecting with people we didn’t know. It definately got scrapped under the rug once aol IM came out. I’ve been using aol since about 15, with the same name infact. I definately agree to the pain of using it now as the many ad screens that come up, along with the new email they forced everyone into, that sends junk automatically. I have actually found serenity in using meebo. It is webbased, has user name abilities for aol, gmail, msn, jabber and even now ICQ, all at the same time. Now it should add in Twitter soon too.
anon

The reason is simple: When I switched computers, I lost all my contacts, since contacts weren’t stored on the server.

I switched to MSN because of this.
anon

The reason is simple: When I switched computers, I lost all my contacts, since contacts weren’t stored on the server.

I switched to MSN because of this.
http://www.scamcity.co.uk/journal/ Greg

34020034, I can remember it in a heartbeat, but sometimes I forget where I parked my car

Such is life…
http://www.scamcity.co.uk/journal/ Greg

34020034, I can remember it in a heartbeat, but sometimes I forget where I parked my car

Such is life…
http://www.samjackson.org/college Sam Jackson

137585900. Had to learn to remember it because in Ultima Online, that was how you did offline business transactions. Bizarrely similar to the student ID number I got 6 years later; a couple digits apart.
http://www.samjackson.org/college Sam Jackson

137585900. Had to learn to remember it because in Ultima Online, that was how you did offline business transactions. Bizarrely similar to the student ID number I got 6 years later; a couple digits apart.
http://www.almostageek.com/ ET

ICQ was great!! I met so many people from around the world on ICQ. In fact I still keep in touch with a few of them but by AIM or MSN. I could dig up my ICQ number but it doesn’t matter anymore. Pownce, Jaiku, Twitter, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk…. Take your pick. iChat too.
http://www.almostageek.com ET

ICQ was great!! I met so many people from around the world on ICQ. In fact I still keep in touch with a few of them but by AIM or MSN. I could dig up my ICQ number but it doesn’t matter anymore. Pownce, Jaiku, Twitter, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk…. Take your pick. iChat too.
http://blogs.smugmug.com/don/ Don MacAskill

Dang. You might be the first person I’ve met with a lower # than me. I was 184667.

Can’t believe I can still rattle that off. That’s a chunk of my brain that’ll never get reclaimed.

I think ICQ’s decline coincided with AOL’s acquisition of it, btw.
http://blogs.smugmug.com/don/ Don MacAskill

Dang. You might be the first person I’ve met with a lower # than me. I was 184667.

Can’t believe I can still rattle that off. That’s a chunk of my brain that’ll never get reclaimed.

I think ICQ’s decline coincided with AOL’s acquisition of it, btw.
tomonzo

Skype killed my ICQ finally;)
http://http:/www.blogas.lt/tomonzo tomonzo

Skype killed my ICQ finally;)
http://www.longzero.com/ Long N.

We use ICQ at work. I don’t know why though, but we do.
http://www.longzero.com Long N.

We use ICQ at work. I don’t know why though, but we do.
http://www.slashchick.com/ SlashChick

Couple old ICQ’ers here, I see… I’m 160739 (and still use the service on a daily basis.) I noticed that participation declined a few years ago since most other networks allowed storage of contacts on the server. Also, I noticed that as younger people signed up (I’ll be 26 in a couple weeks…that makes me an IM old-timer! they tended to head straight to AIM or (even younger people) MSN as ICQ had a clunky, unintuitive interface. With Trillian, you can turn on all the IM networks at the same time, but ICQ never lived down its terrible interface decisions from years ago (and a bloated client that kept growing in size but didn’t have many new features to show for it.) Also, I think AOL heavily promoted AIM over ICQ after they bought ICQ, and they had the web-based client for AIM way before they did anything like that for ICQ.
http://www.slashchick.com/ SlashChick

Couple old ICQ’ers here, I see… I’m 160739 (and still use the service on a daily basis.) I noticed that participation declined a few years ago since most other networks allowed storage of contacts on the server. Also, I noticed that as younger people signed up (I’ll be 26 in a couple weeks…that makes me an IM old-timer! they tended to head straight to AIM or (even younger people) MSN as ICQ had a clunky, unintuitive interface. With Trillian, you can turn on all the IM networks at the same time, but ICQ never lived down its terrible interface decisions from years ago (and a bloated client that kept growing in size but didn’t have many new features to show for it.) Also, I think AOL heavily promoted AIM over ICQ after they bought ICQ, and they had the web-based client for AIM way before they did anything like that for ICQ.
http://mboffin.com/ Dylan Bennett

Still use it every day. Actually, I have two ICQ accounts, but they’re seamless for me. Yay for Trillian. Been using Trillian as my IM client since it came out. I like Trillian because I can be on all the services I need to be on through one client, even little-used protocols like GroupWise Messenger.
http://mboffin.com Dylan Bennett

Still use it every day. Actually, I have two ICQ accounts, but they’re seamless for me. Yay for Trillian. Been using Trillian as my IM client since it came out. I like Trillian because I can be on all the services I need to be on through one client, even little-used protocols like GroupWise Messenger.
http://ziggysbranch.spaces.live.com/ Civisi

I stopped using it because, like others have already said, it became too bloated. I started using in ’96. I don’t remember my first account number, but the last one I had was 18697294. I occasionally sign in whenever I start up Trillian.
http://ziggysbranch.spaces.live.com Civisi

I stopped using it because, like others have already said, it became too bloated. I started using in ’96. I don’t remember my first account number, but the last one I had was 18697294. I occasionally sign in whenever I start up Trillian.
http://ihaveaheadache.wordpress.com/ Frustrated Hubby

4962902 user here. It looks like most of us moved away from the client itself, started using open network clients.
http://ihaveaheadache.wordpress.com Frustrated Hubby

4962902 user here. It looks like most of us moved away from the client itself, started using open network clients.
http://www.jpkeisala.com/ JP

I stopped using ICQ because it was so annoying, I remember thinking many times that I should build one myself, it would be so much more better than ICQ or IRC. Then came MSN and I didn’t have to think anymore. It was almost all we needed. But MSN messenger also got to annoying kids toy so now I am using gTalk now, it’s simple and nice though, not many contacts there.
http://www.jpkeisala.com JP

I stopped using ICQ because it was so annoying, I remember thinking many times that I should build one myself, it would be so much more better than ICQ or IRC. Then came MSN and I didn’t have to think anymore. It was almost all we needed. But MSN messenger also got to annoying kids toy so now I am using gTalk now, it’s simple and nice though, not many contacts there.
http://joostschuur.com Joost Schuur

I have a 6 digit number in the 300k range (which I know by heart) and still use it every day via Trillian or Adium along with AIM/Yahoo/MSN to talk to mostly work people, or old contacts I’ve known for 10+ years.

ICQ started storing contacts server side long ago (I think), and the one benefit it has over all the other major services I’m on is that it’s the only one that caches messages on the server side if a contact is offline. For me, this is essential. Someone messages me while I’m out, and I can message them right back even if they’re offline by the time I see the message.

I realize then I’m using the client more like email than a true ‘instant’ messaging service, but it’s nice to be able to use the same service for both online and offline messaging without having to worry if that person is online or not and then switch services accordingly.
http://dearest.cope.rnic.us Joost Schuur

I have a 6 digit number in the 300k range (which I know by heart) and still use it every day via Trillian or Adium along with AIM/Yahoo/MSN to talk to mostly work people, or old contacts I’ve known for 10+ years.

ICQ started storing contacts server side long ago (I think), and the one benefit it has over all the other major services I’m on is that it’s the only one that caches messages on the server side if a contact is offline. For me, this is essential. Someone messages me while I’m out, and I can message them right back even if they’re offline by the time I see the message.

I realize then I’m using the client more like email than a true ‘instant’ messaging service, but it’s nice to be able to use the same service for both online and offline messaging without having to worry if that person is online or not and then switch services accordingly.
ozzmosis

http://people.icq.com/people/about_me.php?uin=165361

It looks like 165361 is someone else.

I still use ICQ occcasionally but most of my friends have moved to MSN Messenger, possibly because it was bundled with Windows XP, so I mostly use that now.
ozzmosis

http://people.icq.com/people/about_me.php?uin=165361

It looks like 165361 is someone else.

I still use ICQ occcasionally but most of my friends have moved to MSN Messenger, possibly because it was bundled with Windows XP, so I mostly use that now.
http://www.wranner.org/ wranner

So Scoble, you are Kai-Rune Isaksen?

At least he’s the guy who has your number. He’s even online right now
http://www.wranner.org wranner

So Scoble, you are Kai-Rune Isaksen?

At least he’s the guy who has your number. He’s even online right now
Olmy

My number was 1655940, but I haven’t logged on in many, many years. I stopped using ICQ about the time that it was acquired by AOL.

For me its downfall was mostly about bloat. When I first started using ICQ it was a small simple client that did what it did, and did it extremely well. It allowed chat, it allowed file sharing, and that was about it.

But then it suffered the same fate that has befallen most IM clients: it decided to try to be all things to all people. The glut of advertising toolbars, etc, was the final straw.

I remember ICQ fondly, but unfortunately it, and its ilk, are just part of the history of the Internet.
Olmy

My number was 1655940, but I haven’t logged on in many, many years. I stopped using ICQ about the time that it was acquired by AOL.

For me its downfall was mostly about bloat. When I first started using ICQ it was a small simple client that did what it did, and did it extremely well. It allowed chat, it allowed file sharing, and that was about it.

But then it suffered the same fate that has befallen most IM clients: it decided to try to be all things to all people. The glut of advertising toolbars, etc, was the final straw.

I remember ICQ fondly, but unfortunately it, and its ilk, are just part of the history of the Internet.
http://blog.hanfordlemoore.com hanford

I never got on ICQ because the concept that you had a number to remember and not a name, seemed archaic. I figured if something as basic as names were archaic, the rest of it couldn’t be anything spectacular.
http://blog.hanfordlemoore.com/ hanford

I never got on ICQ because the concept that you had a number to remember and not a name, seemed archaic. I figured if something as basic as names were archaic, the rest of it couldn’t be anything spectacular.
Chris L

My first IM network was called PowWow. But almost nobody was using it. Eventually I got on the ICQ bandwagon, but like a lot of commenters here, there was a mass exodus to MSN. These days I go weeks or even months without using IM. I seem to have gone back to email and phone calls. I feel like an old fart!

Another thing I stopped using was Slashdot. My number there is less than 1600.
Chris L

My first IM network was called PowWow. But almost nobody was using it. Eventually I got on the ICQ bandwagon, but like a lot of commenters here, there was a mass exodus to MSN. These days I go weeks or even months without using IM. I seem to have gone back to email and phone calls. I feel like an old fart!

Another thing I stopped using was Slashdot. My number there is less than 1600.
http://www.freeporntimes.com/ Lhorentso Nurmi

A lot of folk in the adult enetrtainment industry use ICQ.

I recently signed up for that reason and got a number with dashes: 363-705-647
http://www.freeporntimes.com Lhorentso Nurmi

A lot of folk in the adult enetrtainment industry use ICQ.

I recently signed up for that reason and got a number with dashes: 363-705-647
http://www.danshafer.com/onemind Dan Shafer

Hey, Chris L, I resent you trying to lay claim to being an old fart around here. I gotta be one of the oldest. And I still use IM every day. Mostly I use AIM via either Fire (multi-protocol IM client for OS X) or iChat, but I am also logged on through Yahoo most days.

I don’t use MSN. I never had more than one colleague who did, so it didn’t seem worthwhile.

My wife and I use ICQ because nobody “out there” knows our numbers so we can talk to each other without having to let the family and mutual friends know we’re online.

And I’ve come to like Google Chat as well, though it still needs a good bit of improvement. I don’t Twitter or Pownce; I think my generation must have gotten passed by on that one. (Hell, I’m older than Winer!)
http://www.danshafer.com/onemind Dan Shafer

Hey, Chris L, I resent you trying to lay claim to being an old fart around here. I gotta be one of the oldest. And I still use IM every day. Mostly I use AIM via either Fire (multi-protocol IM client for OS X) or iChat, but I am also logged on through Yahoo most days.

I don’t use MSN. I never had more than one colleague who did, so it didn’t seem worthwhile.

My wife and I use ICQ because nobody “out there” knows our numbers so we can talk to each other without having to let the family and mutual friends know we’re online.

And I’ve come to like Google Chat as well, though it still needs a good bit of improvement. I don’t Twitter or Pownce; I think my generation must have gotten passed by on that one. (Hell, I’m older than Winer!)
Michael Clarke

I remember ICQ! About the only time I’ve slipped up badly with a message meant for one person that headed off to another, higher in the hierarchy. It was my major means of comms in 1997-98 but somehow just slipped away. My Facebook status feeds and Twitter seems to have taken over for me recently though it’s been gone so long now, I’m not sure that they aren’t just answering a different need.
Michael Clarke

I remember ICQ! About the only time I’ve slipped up badly with a message meant for one person that headed off to another, higher in the hierarchy. It was my major means of comms in 1997-98 but somehow just slipped away. My Facebook status feeds and Twitter seems to have taken over for me recently though it’s been gone so long now, I’m not sure that they aren’t just answering a different need.
Jonas

I do miss ICQ, the way you chat (with the instant typing) and windows that don’t popup right away. Offline messaging was nice back then. The groups that came and went. (the ones you had to run a server yourself) …
I too have a 6 digit number. But starting at 7. I had an older account but I forgot the number.

I stopped using it when 99% of my contacts used msn. And the contact i had on ICQ also had MSN.
Jonas

I do miss ICQ, the way you chat (with the instant typing) and windows that don’t popup right away. Offline messaging was nice back then. The groups that came and went. (the ones you had to run a server yourself) …
I too have a 6 digit number. But starting at 7. I had an older account but I forgot the number.

I stopped using it when 99% of my contacts used msn. And the contact i had on ICQ also had MSN.

What happened to ICQ?

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