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Do you ICQ?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief April 28, 2009 · 1 min read

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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.

icq 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?

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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76 Comments

PJ · 15 years ago

can’t recall my icq number but i did have the manual that came with the free installation cd.

Ruth · 16 years ago

OMG! I missed ICQ! Haha. I cant even remember my ICQ number. The green leaves indicate that you are online! Haha. I am not soo into IM apps, but I love SameTime – this is what we use in our office. :)

megan · 17 years ago

I’ve never used ICQ but yes it was really popular way back then. I was uber “manol” about messengers during the 90’s. hahaha

tonex · 17 years ago

I was in awe of ICQ during the 90’s! I still remember my UIN!

I still think their logo is the best of all the IMs out there.

Ton · 17 years ago

“Uh-oh”!

Customized my YM to still scream uh-oh when a PM comes.

I’d like to think of it as the SuperNES of IM’s – not so relevant anymore, but a true vintage classic.

Axzar · 17 years ago

The porn guys use it.

Philippine Yobbo · 17 years ago

It’s funny how people think those days, common numbers? Maybe their using a numeric keypad.

liz · 17 years ago

I used to!…gone are the days

jared · 17 years ago

lol ym owns

Unknown Soldier · 17 years ago

if you have an ICQ account…

it seems you are not getting younger anymore… :P

Reggie · 17 years ago

trying to remember my ICQ no. back in 1999 caused me to have a headache right now. i wasn’t really interested in it until my then new girlfriend created an account for me.

my cousin met his wife through ICQ. when they both learned they’re from our province, my cousin went back here from Singapore and a year later got married, thanks to ICQ.

beeps · 17 years ago

ICQ#15867440, I still do go online once in a while.

kill3rfill3r · 17 years ago

heard of it too..but never really used it

Rome · 17 years ago

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>

bijz · 17 years ago

early years back, when i first subscribed my first internet plan with mosaic communications. (imagine 450 pesos for 10hours :o) 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.

myke · 17 years ago

last time I used this was way back 1996.
my icq #23120569

Ardz · 17 years ago

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.

noemi · 17 years ago

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.

BrianB · 17 years ago

Still very popular in China and I like playing War Sheep.

Tina · 17 years ago

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. :D

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 17 years ago

Yes, AOL bought Mirabilis (developer of ICQ) in 1998 for $287 million.

aldrin · 17 years ago

used to ICQ before but none of my friends ever used it… :D

mike · 17 years ago

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!

jeromea · 17 years ago

ICQ was a pioneer. They were the first IM to go mobile, even before Chikka. ICQ SMS was launched back in 2000

Andre Marcelo-Tanner · 17 years ago

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.

Jhay · 17 years ago

Heard of it numerous times before way back in high school, but never really used it. :D

Hamilton Chua · 17 years ago

@Doc Harry

I think AOL bought and still owns ICQ. AIM, I think, was the first to interconnect with the ICQ network.

Hamilton Chua · 17 years ago

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 :-)

vaughn · 17 years ago

mine was 107064471 :D

Reel Advice · 17 years ago

@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

Mindanao Bob · 17 years ago

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 · 17 years ago

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.

iRon · 17 years ago

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.

Efren · 17 years ago

dati gumagamit ako nyan pang contact ko sa mga clients..pero ngaun skype na and YM..pero ok din naman yan..

godgets · 17 years ago

icq.. uhmmm what is that again?

eros · 17 years ago

i was christened by ym-era so i don’t know icq…

Darren · 17 years ago

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. :P

vaughn · 17 years ago

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 :D usually from my old clanmates who now have kids who are about to go to high school..i feel old :(