Twitter Mourns Death Of AOL Instant Messenger

AOL AIM — AOL announced it would be discontinuing its icon AIM messaging platform. In this photo, the AOL icon stands on a computer screen. Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images

AOL announced Friday that it would be discontinuing its beloved messaging program AOL Instant Messenger (affectionately referred to as AIM). After a 20 year run, the company said AIM “will be shut down and will no longer work” as of December 15, 2017.

“We know there are so many loyal fans who have used AIM for decades; and we loved working and building the first chat app of its kind since 1997,” the company said on its Help site. “Our focus will always be on providing the kind of innovative experiences consumers want.”

A host of users — many in the millennial demographic — took to Twitter to mourn the iconic social media platform:

d0NT crii becuz itz 0VER.
SM!LE becuz it hAPPENEd.

- aUDREY. hEPBURN. (0R SOME1) -
— your away message (@YourAwayMessage) October 6, 2017

RIP AIM. honor this somber day by opening a door and shutting it and opening it again and shutting it till your crush pays attention to you
— Julia Reinstein (@juliareinstein) October 6, 2017

Today we say farewell to AOL Instant Messenger. Naturally we should all reveal our embarrassing usernames. (won't reveal mine tho!) #RIPaim
— Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitRECordJoe) October 6, 2017

It’s as if millions of DMB quotes cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. #ripAIM
— Russ Frushtick (@RussFrushtick) October 6, 2017

All my away messages were an artistic expression of passive-aggressive angst.

Kids these days will never understand. #RIPAIM
— Alex Goldschmidt (@alexandergold) October 6, 2017

AOL instant messenger is shutting down?? truly a staple of my teenage years; the first time i came out to someone was through AIM. #RIPAIM
— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) October 6, 2017

Me when I see people asking what #AIM was. #RIPAIM @AOL @WGXAnews pic.twitter.com/iO8Vm0PgtV
— Katie Thurber (@KatieWGXA) October 6, 2017

My little AIM buddy is just waving happily into the great abyss of death. Why am i crying in my cubicle right now? pic.twitter.com/XNC2eCpe9e
— Tim Marcin (@TimMarcin) October 6, 2017

I broke up with my 6th grade boyfriend over AIM. To get back at me, he made fun of my username. I cried. #AIMemories https://t.co/xFinjHKrvq
— Caroline Goggin (@CarolineGoggin) October 6, 2017

All my away messages were an artistic expression of passive-aggressive angst.

Kids these days will never understand. #RIPAIM
— Alex Goldschmidt (@alexandergold) October 6, 2017

AOL Instant Messenger… what else is there to say? As a kid, it taught me it was okay to be weird.
— brian feldman (@bafeldman) October 6, 2017

I've used AOL Instant Messenger. And it's been miserable. But I miss it already.
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) October 6, 2017

AOL said it had no plans to replace its signature chat program, one of the first of its kind. Michael Albers, the Vice President of Communications Product at Oath (the Verizon-owned parent company of AOL and Yahoo!) wrote on Tumblr that the decision was made at least in part because of shifts in the way people now communicate but said the company was looking forward to creating “more products and experiences that people around the world love.”

“AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed,” he said. “We are more excited than ever to continue building the next generation of iconic brands and life-changing products for users around the world.”

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