AIM: Away message

2025-12-21 · 63 min · 8 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ discusses Technology company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Technology
→ discusses History website

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: History
→ hosted by The Verge company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: The Verge

Entities found in this episode

companys 4

mentioned The Verge company

0.70

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: The Verge
mentioned Technology company

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Technology
discusses Technology company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Technology
hosted by The Verge company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: The Verge

websites 2

mentioned History website

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: History
discusses History website

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: History

concepts 2

mentioned Away message concept

0.42

evidence rules-v5
AIM: Away message
mentioned AIM concept

0.35

evidence rules-v5
AIM

Episode description as stored

AOL Instant Messenger was, for years, one of the very best things on the internet. Before iMessage and WhatsApp, before Twitter and Facebook, AIM was simply how people talked to each other online. Maybe it was how you casually chatted up your crush; maybe it was how you and your banking coworkers got deals done. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Victoria Song, and author and journalist Kyle Chayka tell the story of the best messaging app ever — how it was created despite the wishes of AOL executives, how it took over the web, and why it didn’t last. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices