AOL Instant Messenger Dead? – Tech Thursday

Even with the economy on the upswing, the tech sector is still feeling a little pinch. Yahoo was laying off staff, and now AOL has just let go most of it's team for their instant messenger service. AIM was the standard which most others used to make themselves stand out. But with these lay offs, what does it mean for the those of us still using the service?

Gizmodo reported the news a couple days ago, but is saying that it's unofficial that AIM is dead in the ground, because AOL hasn't said anything themselves. The news came from an ex AOL employee, who remained anonymous because he's not allowed to speak for the company. It's thought that AIM was defeated by Facebook chat and Google Chat. Plus Twitter could have had a hand in it. AOL hasn't made any announcement on the status of AIM.

While I still use AIM from time to time to keep in touch with my fiance' when she travels, it's not too big a loss. There are other messenger services out there still. MSN, and Yahoo are couple. But could Yahoo be the next in trouble? Time will always tell, because it's a squealer. But do you still use an instant messenger account for anything? Technology is always changing and evolving. So it's only natural that something like this happens. As long as there is a way to keep in touch with those i want to keep in touch with, I'm fine with the changes.

UPDATE: AOL has denied that it's killing AIM.

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