A friend of mine recently felt personally attacked because she still uses what some consider to be a primitive and juvenile means of communication: AOL Instant Messenger. Considering I have been a loyal user of AIM since the fifth grade, when my parents finally decided to move into the 21st century and get dial-up internet (that horrible screeching/siren/horn/banshee noise as the computer dialed up or whatever it did still haunts me to this day), her dismay at being laughed at for using the once popular messaging system was transferred to me.
Sure, the elaborate profiles listing your BFFLs or proclaiming the date you started going out with your BF/GF are a bit over the top. Who can forget the corny, overused quotes like that “dance like no one is watching” one that even people with two left feet would put into their profile? And the colors! Viewing someone’s profile meant risking temporary blindness due to the extreme color combinations.
There was also the typical opening to a conversation:
Buddy1: hey/hi/hello/yo/etc.
Buddy2: hey/hi/hello/yo/etc.
Buddy1: whats up/waz up/sup/wu/etc.
Buddy2: nothing much, you?/nm, you?/nmu?
Buddy1: same lol
Buddy2: cool
What happened after that, I don’t remember, though I’m sure it wasn’t much more exciting than the away message that followed a few minutes later listing everything Buddy2 would be doing that day. But ridiculous profiles and bland, pointless conversations aside, AIM does have its perks and therefore should garner a little bit of respect from those haters out there (I’m talking to you, Taylor DeBoer).
Reasons why AIM is not lame:
1. You can’t deny, it is an easy way to keep in touch with people.
Sure, there’s Facebook and email and texting and that whole actually calling people thing, but if you’re listening to music or watching a movie or reading The Stairs That Lead Nowhere, AIM is a convenient way to talk to someone but still do whatever it is you were doing otherwise. As more and more people move away from using AIM, the number of people you can keep in touch with dwindles, but I must say, the handful of people I talk to online are some of my closest friends, and I attribute parts of those friendships to some great AIM conversations.
2. It’s good for sharing things.
A good portion of my iTunes is made up of music sent to me by fellow AIM users. Depending on the internet connection, it could take between 30 seconds and forever, but it’s a lot more convenient than burning CDs or paying 99 cents (or even $1.29 – blasphemy!) on iTunes. I’ve never tried it, but you can send pictures and other files too. Also, if you stumble upon a particularly funny or interesting link that you feel the need to share with someone immediately, AIM is there.
3. Eff Facebook Chat.
When you sign on AIM, you don’t risk being IMed by that creepy kid in your Spanish class that randomly friended you on Facebook. Also, if you use Facebook Chat, you’re kind of limited to stalking people on Facebook while you’re talking to the person because you have to stay logged on. Plus I hear it malfunctions a lot. So another win for AIM.
4. It’s great for procrastination.
You’ve already had dinner and checked Facebook a few times and had an after dinner snack and checked your email and had dessert, and now it’s time to do your paper. You write a few sentences. Now what? IM your friends and complain about how much you don’t want to write your paper, of course! I’m not saying procrastination is a good thing by any means, but it’s an essential part of the homework process, and AIM is there to facilitate it.
5. The Stairs that Lead Nowhere was born from an AIM conversation.
Granted, it was more DK IMing me saying let’s start a blog, I said okay, and he did the rest. But still, AIM was an important factor in the process. That should be reason enough for all you AIM-haters out there.
6. You can randomly have conversations like this:
manchester1110 (1:50:45 AM): poop
megmck04 (1:51:02 AM): shit
manchester1110 (1:51:29 AM): crap
megmck04 (1:52:20 AM): feces
manchester1110 (1:52:30 AM): poo
megmck04 (1:52:45 AM): dump
manchester1110 (1:53:06 AM): brown lumps
megmck04 (1:53:26 AM): turds
manchester1110 (1:53:49 AM): ew
megmck04 (1:54:17 AM): haha i win!
So to all you AIM skeptics out there, give the old school method of communication another chance, or politely shut up and let those unwilling to let go of it IM each other in peace.
**NOTE: Though I will admit I do it all the time because I enjoy taking the easy way out, I do not endorse using AIM for any serious, life-altering conversations. There is no point in hiding behind a computer screen when there are so many other more direct ways to talk to people about truly important matters. Just sayin'.
Peace out!
Meag
Sure, the elaborate profiles listing your BFFLs or proclaiming the date you started going out with your BF/GF are a bit over the top. Who can forget the corny, overused quotes like that “dance like no one is watching” one that even people with two left feet would put into their profile? And the colors! Viewing someone’s profile meant risking temporary blindness due to the extreme color combinations.
There was also the typical opening to a conversation:
Buddy1: hey/hi/hello/yo/etc.
Buddy2: hey/hi/hello/yo/etc.
Buddy1: whats up/waz up/sup/wu/etc.
Buddy2: nothing much, you?/nm, you?/nmu?
Buddy1: same lol
Buddy2: cool
What happened after that, I don’t remember, though I’m sure it wasn’t much more exciting than the away message that followed a few minutes later listing everything Buddy2 would be doing that day. But ridiculous profiles and bland, pointless conversations aside, AIM does have its perks and therefore should garner a little bit of respect from those haters out there (I’m talking to you, Taylor DeBoer).
Reasons why AIM is not lame:
1. You can’t deny, it is an easy way to keep in touch with people.
Sure, there’s Facebook and email and texting and that whole actually calling people thing, but if you’re listening to music or watching a movie or reading The Stairs That Lead Nowhere, AIM is a convenient way to talk to someone but still do whatever it is you were doing otherwise. As more and more people move away from using AIM, the number of people you can keep in touch with dwindles, but I must say, the handful of people I talk to online are some of my closest friends, and I attribute parts of those friendships to some great AIM conversations.
2. It’s good for sharing things.
A good portion of my iTunes is made up of music sent to me by fellow AIM users. Depending on the internet connection, it could take between 30 seconds and forever, but it’s a lot more convenient than burning CDs or paying 99 cents (or even $1.29 – blasphemy!) on iTunes. I’ve never tried it, but you can send pictures and other files too. Also, if you stumble upon a particularly funny or interesting link that you feel the need to share with someone immediately, AIM is there.
3. Eff Facebook Chat.
When you sign on AIM, you don’t risk being IMed by that creepy kid in your Spanish class that randomly friended you on Facebook. Also, if you use Facebook Chat, you’re kind of limited to stalking people on Facebook while you’re talking to the person because you have to stay logged on. Plus I hear it malfunctions a lot. So another win for AIM.
4. It’s great for procrastination.
You’ve already had dinner and checked Facebook a few times and had an after dinner snack and checked your email and had dessert, and now it’s time to do your paper. You write a few sentences. Now what? IM your friends and complain about how much you don’t want to write your paper, of course! I’m not saying procrastination is a good thing by any means, but it’s an essential part of the homework process, and AIM is there to facilitate it.
5. The Stairs that Lead Nowhere was born from an AIM conversation.
Granted, it was more DK IMing me saying let’s start a blog, I said okay, and he did the rest. But still, AIM was an important factor in the process. That should be reason enough for all you AIM-haters out there.
6. You can randomly have conversations like this:
manchester1110 (1:50:45 AM): poop
megmck04 (1:51:02 AM): shit
manchester1110 (1:51:29 AM): crap
megmck04 (1:52:20 AM): feces
manchester1110 (1:52:30 AM): poo
megmck04 (1:52:45 AM): dump
manchester1110 (1:53:06 AM): brown lumps
megmck04 (1:53:26 AM): turds
manchester1110 (1:53:49 AM): ew
megmck04 (1:54:17 AM): haha i win!
So to all you AIM skeptics out there, give the old school method of communication another chance, or politely shut up and let those unwilling to let go of it IM each other in peace.
**NOTE: Though I will admit I do it all the time because I enjoy taking the easy way out, I do not endorse using AIM for any serious, life-altering conversations. There is no point in hiding behind a computer screen when there are so many other more direct ways to talk to people about truly important matters. Just sayin'.
Peace out!
Meag
very well thought our point meg. You make it difficult for me to disagree.
ReplyDeletebut i still do
Ur a contra Taylor
ReplyDelete