In the mid1 1990s, if you were online, you were almost certainly using America online. AOL was the internet for lots and lots of people. But within AOL, there was this tiny team that almost nobody wanted to exist that was building an app that might someday bring the best part of AOL outside the walled garden.From the Verge and Vox Media, this is Virgin History, a show about the best and worst and strangest and most important products in tech history. Today we're talking, of course, about AOL Instant Messeng ...

Messaging App Market & BBM's Rise - In 2005, instant messaging became as prevalent as email, particularly among young users, highlighting a shift in communication preferences [16] - Text messaging cost 10 cents per message, creating an opportunity for free, real-time messaging apps like BBM [1][33] - BBM launched on August 1, 2005, offering features like group chat, file sharing, and read receipts, resembling a full-fledged mobile IM client [34][35] - BBM's pin-to-pin messaging allowed read receipts, a novel feature at the time, enhancing user experience [35] BBM's Peak & Decline - By 2010, BlackBerry faced increasing competition from Android, marking a turning point in its market dominance [40] - BBM introduced features like BBM Music for $4.99 per month, attempting to create a sticky ecosystem [37][38] - In 2013, BBM had approximately 60 million users, but WhatsApp already had 300 million users, indicating a significant market shift [44] - BlackBerry considered spinning off BBM as BBM Inc, aiming to compete with WhatsApp and Skype [44] Strategic Missteps & Missed Opportunities - BlackBerry executives chose to keep BBM exclusive to BlackBerry devices, hindering its potential for broader adoption [41] - The company failed to capitalize on the stickiness of messaging platforms, leading to a rapid decline once users switched to other services [41][42] - BBM's cross-platform Android APK leaked in 2013, causing a system overload and delaying the official launch [44] - BBM officially shut down in 2019, marking the end of an era [44][45]