UX in messengers: 2005 - 2015. Part I. Background. Years 2005-2007

    In the process of competition, messengers have undergone significant changes in order to be more accessible to customers. We invite you to consider the most significant steps in the development of functionality, interfaces and UX instant messaging systems over the past 10 years.

    Year 2005: before and during


    The wave of popularity of ICQ , the first instant messenger launched in 1996, has declined. The large client base of ICQ was provided by the simplicity and accessibility of the service. The basic idea of ​​the messenger - the ability to search for contacts by name, place of residence, mail, nickname, gender, age and other information specified by users - was reflected even in the original name: ICQ abbreviation almost coincided in sound with 'I seek you' (= I’m looking for you). For a long time, minimal functionality and undemanding resources were decisive factors when choosing a client for instant messaging.

    A familiar feature of ICQ was a unique identification number, which was issued to users in ascending order. Before starting communication, it was required to find out the number of the interlocutor. At the same time, beautiful and special rooms were of particular value and could be resold for substantial amounts.

    In older versions of ICQ, there was such a feature unusual for modern users as the output of incoming and outgoing messages in separate windows (which, obviously, was the stage of transition from the email format). It is worth noting that despite the fact that ICQ was inferior in popularity to other messengers abroad, it was widespread in Russia, some still use ICQ.

    The OSCAR network protocol that underlies ICQ, despite its proprietary and closed code, by this time it had already been parsed by reverse engineering methods and was used to develop a huge number of unofficial clients expanding the functionality (such as, for example, the Russian multi-protocol QIP client that appeared in 2005).

    The popularity of unofficial customers grew, while the official ICQ was becoming slower and overloaded with advertising. In 2005, a system of skins was introduced in ICQ 5, but at that time the service was already overloaded with all kinds of tinsel.

    Popularity decline trend touched AIM messengerAmerican company AOL, which by this moment already owned ICQ. AIM was particularly popular in offices and workplaces. Even Microsoft introduced support for the AIM protocol in its MSN messenger, which entailed repeated rewriting of the AIM code and resulted in a “cyber war”, during which Microsoft programmers cracked the updated AIM code over and over again. The end of the confrontation was threatened by introducing malicious code into Microsoft MSN.

    AIM messenger was innovative. Voice chat was introduced in it much earlier than in Skype. The messenger was able to transfer files and exchange SMS with mobile phones. However, it was distributed free of charge and its development was not taken too much care. In an attempt to make money on the messenger at least something, it was decided to introduce advertising banners that did not fit too much into the AIM interface. The company prevented the development of third-party plugins. AIM's small development team tried to defend their innovations despite opposition from company management.

    A separate niche is occupied by IRC clients (for example, mIRC) There are many clients for the IRC protocol; they are especially popular among technically advanced users due to the simplicity of the protocol, openness of the code, wide possibilities for integration, extensibility and automation using the scripting language. Often used to create online conferences on private servers.

    Similar functions are performed by clients based on the XMPP protocol (Jabber). These instant messaging systems are popular now. They have practically not changed since its inception, having a specific field of application. These systems get a second wind with the use of web clients embedded directly into the site. It is very likely that the chats that you see on sites use exactly one of these protocols.

    The vast majority of IRC and Jabber clients are just text chat. Sometimes with customization of fonts, but the default font is “technical”, monospaced. Sometimes with highlighting messages or nicknames in color in the line Sometimes it is also customizable. Someone wittily called such an implementation a “multiplayer Notepad.”

    SkypeLaunched in 2003, it was initially positioned as an instant messaging service with communication functions via a microphone and a video camera, and was one of the most promising projects of its time (which later proved true), but since Skype was quite demanding on computer resources of that time, the popularity came to him far from immediately. Few perceived it precisely in the context of instant messenger, using mainly as a means of voice and video communication.

    Msn messenger(later - Windows Live Messenger), which was included in the base package of Microsoft operating systems, was popular primarily because of the distribution method. At this point, it already had features such as file transfer and audio calls through one of the first VoIP services. With the release of Windows XP, the function of grouping contacts and group voice conversations was added to the MSN messenger. One of the interesting features of MSN was the integration plugin with Windows Media Player, which displayed a line in the user’s profile with the music he was listening to (Now Playing). In 2005, flash animated files were inserted into the MSN messenger to insert a message called 'wink' (wink). They served as the basis for modern animated emoticons and emoji. Google Talk

    was launched in 2005, a key feature of which, of course, was deep integration with your Google and Gmail account. Google Talk uses the XMPP (Jabber) protocol mentioned above.

    A large number of instant messengers and their protocols, with a tendency towards integration and standardization, have led to the emergence of a multiprotocol messenger format. One of them, QIP has already been mentioned above. Unlike old instant messengers with their own protocols, the developers of which were involved in the creation of these protocols, in such instant messengers the emphasis is on the interface and special features. As a result of the development, whole “combines” were obtained.

    Take, for example, a messenger of this format - Trillian. In addition to its own protocol Astra, it supports the protocols ICQ, IRC, Jabber, Facebook, MSN (Windows Live), Yahoo, Facebook and others. He also knows how to write on Twitter and use mail. Trillian can also play sound files with emotions during audio communication, can pack transferred files into the archive, has a wide functionality for recording conversations and user actions with support for XML markup. Such programs allow you to "collect" contacts scattered across different social networks and third-party services.

    Year 2006


    Twitter has appeared . This service realized ideas that were in the air about laconic statuses and short public messages. Most multi-protocol clients have added support for Twitter, although it is more suitable for use on smartphones through its own client, and on computers it is easier to use the web interface.

    Year 2007


    Skype 3.5 has been released, in which there is support for video in the user profile, and the ability to embed video in chat. Skype is gaining in popularity, crowding out other instant messengers like ICQ.

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