155) From AIM to DM

My good friend, Jon, brought this interesting idea about American Online Instant Messaging, and Direct Messaging. I decided to write about it. Thank you, Jon.

(I write whatever is on the fly, or on the top of my head. My blog is created by my storytelling about myself, and others. Surrounding myself with people has made this blog exist. I decide to write on what I like to hear, and see.) 

When I was a kid, I grew up using AIM. It was launched in 1997. (I was 10 years old at that time.)

My first screen name in AOL was NiCePiNoY85. (My birth year is 1987, not 1985. I was concerned about people coming after me. Now, I find attractive women on Instagram, and I DM them. Call that, irony.)

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Profile for:
NiCePnOy85

Member Name:            MiKe
Sex:                             MaLe
Marital Status:             SiNgLe
Hobbies:                      PlAyIn AnD wAtChIn BbAll, BeIn A nIcE pInOy, AnD tYpInG uPpEr
                                   & LoWeR cAsE lEtTeRs
​Computers:                 My EmAcHiNeS  
Occupation:                 StUdEnT
Personal Quote:           AiMiN aT yOu...

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AIM introduced us its contact list as a "buddy list." Apparently, AIM discontinued on Saturday, December 15, 2018.

Whenever you were away from your computer, AIM gave you an option to activate your "away" message. Its default message was "I am away from my computer right now." Also, you can customize your own "away" message, such as I used, "Zzzzzzz."

Now, DM can be used in any type of social media, such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, WhatsApp, WeChat, and more.

Our means of communication has profoundly expanded, and changed.

DM's contact list consists of followers, friends, and etc.

I am not exactly sure when DM began. Possibly, it started some time after 2008, when Facebook and Instagram became popular.

Without AIM, we probably would not have had DM. Without AIM for me, I would not have met my first ever girlfriend at that time. (Thank you, AIM.)

Although AIM is gone now, you can still watch a 1998 movie, "You've Got Mail," about a man and woman meeting each other through AOL.

AIM acronyms are rarely used for DM:

• BRB - Be Right Back
• GTG, or G2G - Got To Go, or Gotta Go
• TTYL - Talk To You Later, or Talk To Ya Later

For the reason that, in this day and age, we own smart phones now. They are always with us 24/7.

AIM acronyms still used for DM:

• FYI - For Your Information
• OMY, or OTW (I believe that I started "OTW.") - On My Way, or On The Way
• BTW - By The Way
• ASAP - As Soon As Possible
• LOL, LMAO, or LMFAO - Laughing Out Loud, Laughing My Ass Off, or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off
• OMG - Oh My God, or Oh My Goodness

From AIM's emoticons to DM's emojis:

• <3 - ♥️
• :) - 🙂
• :( - 🙁
• ;) - 😉
• :'( - 😢
• :P - 😋
• :O - 😯
• :D - 😁

FYI, you can now use GIFs in DM, text messaging, (or almost anywhere).

TTYL for next week's blog entry.
GTG now.

BTW, every time you signed out of AIM, you would hear a voice-controlled personal assistant always telling you, "Goodbye." (That was before Siri, and Google Assistant.)