So Windows Live Messenger (WLM) is celebrating its 10th Anniversary and we have been asked to write about our memories in and around WLM.
For me it is connected to being stationed overseas in Europe for 18 years. I came back from Europe in 2004 and so I had the opportunity to use WLM for the last 5 years I was overseas. Now phone calls from Europe to the US can be very expensive so I was always looking for alternatives.
E-mail was one of them and sped up the exchange of information compared to letters which were the primary means I used when I first went overseas in the early 1980’s.
When WLM came on the scene 10 years ago it provided me a much more immediate means of having contact with family and friends back home in the US. Now the only challenge to the communications was the 6 hour time difference between us. Once fulltime Internet connections became a reality then I simply left WLM running on my PC with the volume turned up to hear any chats that might pop up.
WLM was not just about the chat either but as webcams came along and became household items now we were not only able to chat with each other but actually see each other – live and in the moment.
Now that is something email could never provide - Happy Birthday WLM!
