ICQ was once the biggest instant messaging service back in the 90s. It used to be the default IM in most net cafes until it was slowly replaced by YM. Not sure what happened but it just faded away.
Besides, I no longer use IMs much these days (only recently found out that ICQ originally meant “i seek you” so the IM was aimed more like an avenue for meeting dates/friends).
For the last decade or two, ICQ tried to evolve and was positioning itself to be like Skype. And for some time, it was In the Philippines, Yahoo took over most of the leadership in web properties including instant messaging.
I guess that’s how trends come and go. Is there anyone out there still actively using ICQ?
not me.. but i did frequently used it in the late 90s during online game sessions. it was only all text-based games back then. i still do check my offline msgs every few months or so
usually from my old clanmates who now have kids who are about to go to high school..i feel old 
oh my god , this is my old time favorite before college. I used to chat with my gf via ICQ during high school, then in college suddenly everyone uses MSN. So like Yuga said, trend come and go, that’s it. I can’t barely remember my ICQ number.
i was christened by ym-era so i don’t know icq…
icq.. uhmmm what is that again?
dati gumagamit ako nyan pang contact ko sa mga clients..pero ngaun skype na and YM..pero ok din naman yan..
i’ve heard and seen it before sa mga cafes since college days, but never catch my eye to use it. IRC is much a better place for meeting dates/friends.
t’was replaced by YM coz most of us uses the YahooMail. it is good to use webservices under one roof.
One of the problems with ICQ is that you’re identified by a number! Who wants to remember a string of numbers? Caller ID anyone?
I’m not surprised that it declined, but I am surprised it wasn’t bought up or sold off earlier to the then emerging Internet giants.
Twitter: Mindanao_Bob
says:
I was an early ICQ user, as a matter of fact, I had just a 4 digit ICQ number. Like you, Abe, I don’t chat any longer. It is too time consuming – a time waster, and if you get to the point where you have a large number of readers on your site, you sign on to something like ICQ or YM and you’ll be busy chatting all day because so many people will be wanting to talk. Unfortunate, but that’s how it is.
@Doc Harry
I have to agree with the identity number thingy! it was too long in the first place and very hard to remember! I think it was around 10 digits! :S
mine was 107064471
A friend introduced me to the world of instant messaging thru ICQ. I still go online on ICQ (via pidgin) but none of my friends use it anymore. They’ve either gone over to YM, Skype, AIM or Gtalk.
@Mindanao Bob
If you telecommute like me, IM is indispensable. It becomes a productivity tool not a “time waster”
@vaugh
mine is 24979799
@Doc Harry
I think AOL bought and still owns ICQ. AIM, I think, was the first to interconnect with the ICQ network.
Heard of it numerous times before way back in high school, but never really used it.
Twitter: kzapkzap
says:
ICQ was real nice in the start but then it started getting bulkier and bulkier and slower to load, they were adding so much, they should have kept it simple.
ICQ was a pioneer. They were the first IM to go mobile, even before Chikka. ICQ SMS was launched back in 2000
I used to use ICQ back in 97 up to 2000 then dropped out of IM a together. I only got back to the IM scene when gtalk came along since it works seamlessly with gmail.
and yeah the ICQ # thing is a hard thing to remember, I know I can’t remember my old id lol!
used to ICQ before but none of my friends ever used it…
Yes, AOL bought Mirabilis (developer of ICQ) in 1998 for $287 million.
I had ICQ back when I was new to the Net, and I remember it being one of the things exchanged in mIRC chats. I think one of the reasons I stopped using it because back then, you have to remember the ICQ # and not the username, so it’s kind of hard to remember especially when the numbers start getting really long.
I kind of miss it’s cuckoo-sounding alert, though.
Still very popular in China and I like playing War Sheep.
Twitter: momblogger
says:
memories of icq. I used to chat with my brother while he was in a hospital in Maryland in the late 90′s. My ICQ number is 6 digits (starts with 6) and it was once hacked by a Russian. I got it back though when I told him to.
I had an account when I was still in college. I remember the SMS feature as well as the associated email account feature. Too bad they were overtaken by other IMs today. My favorite in ICQ is the search feature wherein you’ll input the characteristics of people you’d like to chat with.
last time I used this was way back 1996.
my icq #23120569
early years back, when i first subscribed my first internet plan with mosaic communications. (imagine 450 pesos for 10hours
) that’s when i was 2nd year high, my account number was 7-digit.
i can still remember my account info and use it with meebo now. i find their sms service to be useful. where my contacts are from overseas, they can just sms me. and then thats when i go online.
Ang una kong ginagamit talaga nun is mIRC. Then, naging YM. Hindi ko naabutan yung ICQ. Right now, sawa na ako sa chat.. mula nung mawala yung Public/User Rooms sa YM. weh>