How Microsoft killed the one cool product they ever had: MSN Messenger 

Met my wife in 2001 on msn. Still together now in 2020

MSN was so popular in Brazil. I remember leaving school and my friends/classmates passing by and asking if I was going to ''be on MSN later on''. We used to spend the night watching movies at home and commenting about the movie through MSN, good old days!

This episode brought back memories, but it is true Microsoft is a pro when it comes to messing up good things.

Oh man some of the most exhilarating times of my life we’re messaging girls I liked in 6th grade and hearing that classic notification. I miss msn messenger dearly.

Windows XP + MSN Messenger are the most nostalgic products ever.

I miss MSN so much. It was very popular here, until it was replaced by Skype and everybody moved to Facebook or WhatsApp. At least it'll forever live in my @Live Microsoft account

"Facebook had even copied the damn nudge". 😂😂😂

MS could have turned MSN/Live Messenger in to something bigger than Whatsapp, but threw it away.

you could draw each other pictures, send custom self made / found animated emotes, and play games with each other.. and NUDGE, and send unlimited files without compression. we don't have a messenging platform that can do all that today.

Brazil used it so much that this video is litered with clips from brazilians using it :D

MSN Messenger....... ah when times were easier and I got to chat with girls from my school I was too embarrassed to talk to in person 🙈

Skype and Xamarin seem to be headed towards the same fate. Microsoft's executives and decision makers don't seem able to use their resources and brand

The mispronounciation of "emoticon" is bugging the hell out of me.

MSN Messenger was the perfect replacement to ICQ. I kept losing my contacts on ICQ even with that backup program that saves to floppy disc. I digress. MSN was so useful in keeping in contact with your friends. I even had this phone (with buttons) called the HTC voyager running Windows Mobile and came with MSN messenger pre-installed (and connected over WAP). It was so cool going to the mall while chatting with your friends who were stuck behind their PC. Which baffles me... Why didn't Microsoft create a version of MSN Messenger for use on their early Windows Phone devices???? After all, the phone already connects to your Hotmail for the contact list. They might have come out ahead of FB Messenger, Telegram, maybe even WhatsApp....

MSN Messenger statuses were like an early form of Twitter

I miss Messenger, I had a great time the summer I got my Vista laptop and used Messenger almost daily with a friend, we would spend hours playing games and sending nudges

A blast from the past, the hours spent on messenger...wow. brought back memories... Simpler times for sure

The days talking to friends after taking a break from runescape and habbo ❤️damn thought that would've lasted forever

I remember MSN Messenger being the first that had the "now typing" notice and that made instant messaging seem like a conversation rather than a series of messages. It was the first service I quit using because of the confusing login process. What kind of account did I have? MSN? Passport? Microsoft? The option to have an account with your existing email account, so it could be ten other logins? Then figuring out the password for each option. It was so much easier to just go back to AIM that by then added the now typing feature and had a simple user interface. Seems how I was using messaging to communicate with coworkers to do our jobs simplicity mattered.

pure nostalgia... back in the days when MSN was the shit!

MSN messenger was brilliant, XP was great, it was all going quite well at that point in the consumer market - good times.

I miss MSN Messenger loads, everyone I knew used it all the time. It was great, being able to play simple games with friends and help family out with tec support via the app.

*"Geoff"* is pronounced *"Jeff"*

I never had an account because I was far too young (I was born in 2002 lol), but I remember one of my older sisters having an account on the platform. So it brings back memories for me just like playing pinball on XP. It's insane how much technology has advanced in only 15 years.

Xp was so beautiful ... oh the msn browser. It was magic to me as a teenager. So nostalgic. That’s how to make a product.

Where I grew up, nobody had AOL, so I recall going from ICQ to MSN and It was facebook messenger that killed MSN for us. I remember having MSN on my cellphone and it just used text messages.

I'd say that them shifting the MSN Messenger towards Windows Live is being underplayed here as a factor to it's death. I remember back in the day everyone used MSN messenger and I had over a hundred contacts on my list varying from my random schoolmates to family members so the contact list was basically what you could find on you Facebook Messenger list. Everyone loved the platform because it had beautiful aesthetics, very well functioning messaging, intriguing emojis and all the basic features that you'd want from Web convos to the games and most importantly: It all came in a very clean and neat package. The software was really clean and didn't have excessive clutter tied to it which was it's key selling point. Everything was going great for it from the customer perspective until... they started the Windows Live shift. Everyone hated it. And by everyone, I mean literally everyone. Hotmail was steadily being shifted towards the Live stuff. The interface started to become less and less customer friendly and at some point lost it's aesthetics completely. More and more clutter pushed it's way to the interface which made customers dissatisfied with it. The login was still accessible, but it being just a tad bit clunkier was unacceptable to most users. The shift with it's platform, login, aesthetics, more corporate clutters and overall clumsiness compared to the previous easiness of the platform being gone set the snowball going which lead to it's death in the eyes of consumers. By the time this started happening I'd now see 10 people online instead of 50 people online. Nobody simply wanted to use it anymore. That's what killed the whole ordeal from the customer perspective.

I still very fondly remember MSN Messenger, it was where my best friend and I hung out after coming home from high school. We had a blast using the doodle feature and having our own custom emotes. I remember using the nudge feature if she went afk for too long. Some one please bring back the nudge feature! Then I remember it being phased out in favor of Skype which I never liked then that died and we still talk over on Discord. I wonder what the next messaging app will be.

Should have interspersed the video with those iconic sound effects. 🎶

I used to have AOL, and a MSN man those were fun days to chat with old friends overseas and my old jr.high and high school a bit till grade 11

The voice crack at the beginning make it sound like you're saying the sponsor part kinda drunk.

I used to watch a friend communicate with his friends with MSN messenger and oh the never-ending dramas that ensued from talking to rival girls at the same time.

I remember when it just worked. No message delays, no non-deliveries, no BS like with M$ Teams.

Messaging to crush on MSN an expecting a reply ..... yeah, I was there. Long long ago.

I really miss MSN, what Microsoft should have done is to emigrate some MSN functionalities over to Skype such as the games and nudges.

Yahoo Messenger was my favorite. All those little animations were great.

Just downloaded MSN and have used it for a couple of days. Man it's way better than I remembered! Make me realise just how little message platforms have evolved over since the MSN days.

Hold on the nudge was legend I’m sure at in point they had that feature on Whatsapp years ago. I did a semester abroad and tech, Facebook, messenger, MySpace, Napster, the hills, and Chris brown defined that whole era of my life. 🙌🏾🙌🏾

Did you just say “M-O-Tike-Ons?”

"and added file transfer" Brazilians: "Você viu as fotos da festa? ficaram ótimas!" Anti Virus Software: oh shit

My favorite feature was the drawing messages feature, was so cool, and not a single one of modern message programs had even tried replicate that

5:00 What do you know about the forgotten MSN Character chat, a software used to chat selecting a character and then using gestures in a cartoon style. That was too cool to be lost in time and Development of Computing.

Everyone had messenger back then, lost contact with so many ppl when it was gone.

One of the big reasons MSN Messenger died and even before Skype was integrated with it. It was Microsoft killing off the chatrooms that was the first real nail in the coffin. They were concerned about the safety of children online, so decided to axe them, yet today with social apps, children are at a greater danger today. The closing of the chatrooms, meant the place where you'd meet people then move to over to Messenger was over :(

3:22 the younger users don't even know what emoticons are but they know emojis 🤷‍♂️

“Geoff” is actually pronounced Jeff 🇬🇧👍

Great episode once again ahh good old MSN such fond memories This was the ultimate social media but facebook and other things killed it I think as people get older they leave platforms behind i just stopped using it after a while I can't even remember why

I like nostalgic things, 3:48 chrome color compaq keyboard reminded me of old days. Ahh good old compaq desktops. Thanks for the clip

Good 'ol MSN Messenger... I miss that thing so freaking much. Thanks to it, I will _never_ be able to use the word "emoji" to refer to those image reaction icons we all use. That word sickens me, for some reason. For me, they'll _forever_ be called "emoticons".

I used AIM more than I used MSN, but I do remember those days fondly. Hanging out in random chatrooms and talking to strangers. I even have friends to this day that I met through AIM back in the day.

Probably if Microsoft didn’t forced people to skype, I may used MSN for several more years

I had so many memories on MSN good and bad. A simpler time indeed.

here in brazil msn messenger was HUGE, i don't miss it but i miss the good ol' days tbh

Thank you for the memories MSN messenger was something that brought my generation together and I’m 40 almost 41

Oh god, MSN. The messenger from my teenage years. I remember talking to people from my highschool on it and also people from all around the world. It's a real shame it doesn't exist anymore... I mean we have Discord at least these days but there was something about MSN. Also does anyone remember the strange MSN bots? Sim Simi, Perfect Boyfriend bot and soooo many more.

Man you hit it on the head, "Microsoft tried making an adult out of a teen ager platform." Those were some simpler times.

Here in the Philippines, we didn't use AIM much but we did use ICQ, YM, and MSN Messenger a lot.

Your videos are always on point!

I would even say MSN had an unfair advantage over ICQ and others by being pre-installed (even on schools)

I loved it that you could put the song you are listening to from Winamp or WMP in the status :D

I really miss this software and hope my kid still could use it with her classmates. That would be so nice!

Thanks. Always looking forward to your Company Forensics videos!

i used msn messenger to check the strength of my internet connection. if my message to my friend didnt get through, it meant my internet was really down.

Yeah lived through the transition from msn, to their collaboration with Yahoo on Yahoo messenger, then Skype came along... All the while confused as to why the software for instant messaging changed.

going offline and online repetitively hopin your crush would notice

One day (2000's) at work we got some sort of IM on our devices. A few years later it was gone. I really didn't notice because if you needed to retain a record of the communication you used e-mail and if no record was needed you could always pick up the phone ...

from mIRC to ICQ and then Msn Messenger. Used it for almost a decade until facebook messenger appear, then finally whatsapp.

At 4:04, did you guys mean to put the dollar sign there? You mentioned those were the # of video chat sessions, but not nothing about income though. So wonder if it's a slight typo. All in all, this has video was a nostalgia trip haha

Wow this is before my time. It just goes to show that messenging platforms are very short lived.

Omg the memories! That messenger msn was the greatest thing ever. It was the bomb also the matrix skin that came after the movie was really cool.

I think that MSN, AOL and similar programs, like ICQ(it still works but is barely used) were phased out due to lack of monetization, they were doing what they were supposed to do - online communication, and they were seriously good at it. Introduction of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat...etc removed interaction via nicknames and tied social status to user profiles, starting the era of influencers. It was unlikely that things posted online would go viral often, so to increase ad counts, adding a superficial userbase to the sites was necessary. The better technicalities of facebook at the time were not that important at this point, it was its ability to execute this unhealthy obsession about superficial lifestyle that made people switch over so quickly. Skype will not stay around for much longer.

I had totally forgotten about ASL hahaha this brought back memories

Can’t wait for it to start!

*Blasts 21 Pilots-stressed out* 🔊. So much nostalgia. 1st crushes. Simpler times *cries in dial-up sfx* 😭

I was too young to be allowed on MSN, AIM, and Yahoo Messenger (born in 1995) but I do remember those times. I wish I would’ve been able to use them (barely used Yahoo Messenger at all) but didn’t get to experience having my own usernames firsthand especially on MSN. Really it’s too bad that all 3 of them couldn’t still coexist in today’s world. As a consolation prize (if you could call it that) I did create an AOL account to have at least as a backup email and now have ringtones from both that I purchased from the iTunes Store. Still though, it would’ve been cool if they all evolved to have apps for them.

awww love these good ol' days.

Remember using Apatch to get rid of all the ads, and to disable annoying features in the Live Messenger software

i miss the 2-player solitaire, minesweeper, and other games that were built in.

I think the downfall of MSN in the Netherlands had a lot to do with the Blackberry hype and transistion period from phone to smartphone, which saw Blackberry and iPhone using their own instant/direct massaging services. And Microsoft was too slow in noticing the trend. They should have made a MSN App right when blackberry grew. I remember a lot of trashtalk between classmates because one of them wanted to contacted the other but only had MSN and one services was so much better than the other for reasons only known to teenagers. But an Appstore wasn't a thing back then and almost all Apps came preinstalled on devices so dev and distribuion of said MSN App was difficult.

your videos should be as a series on netflix and i am going to pay for it ..

Cool is a word to never be used with Microsoft lol

I remember using both. Yahoo and MSN. in Yahoo Chat. some people had a program that made your messenger go crazy. like it was being hacked. Good ol days.

Feels like MSN messenger had a hand in every big social event from my teenage years. It's where you flirrted with girls, where plans for parties were made, asking someone out or breakups mostly happened through MSN(because it was so much easier), gossip and fights between friend groups... they all went through MSN in one way or another.

i missed the msn time, best highschool memory

Also something you didn't mention, if I remember correctly they never managed to put msn in smartphones or they did when it was already too late.

What are emot icons?

Oh my I completely forgot about a/s/l. Haven't had to ask that in a long time.

So true, so good product that was even better than the actual Windows 10 PCs

I met people from all over latinamerica on forums and when you got along with someone you added them on msn messenger, or sometimes someone invited you to group chats and you'd meet people from everywhere. I made a few good friends just by talking nonsense every day on msn.

Thanks! Really helped me for some homework I'm writing. c:

There was no reason for Microsoft to shut down these services, they could have continued instead of rebooting multiple times. I recall there were TV ads (in India) with their tag line "it is E A S Y as talking" Laptop ads showcased young people using the messenger They also had good chat rooms and windows xp style interface. Their webcam service was very reliable, compared to competitor yahoo (India never used aim)

i had no idea msn even had web cam integrated. i was only using the basic chat lol!

I need you to do one on tumblr so I can share it in my tumblr with my tumblr friends

Would use it again lol the memories of the original chat room not like messenger today

how did aol use the bug to its advantage? (and against microsoft)

Finally up!

Damn, brought a tear to my eye.

I use the *hotmail* adress, that i had to create to use the messenger, to this very day! it's my main email adress :-P

Wait, is that how you pronounce “emoticons”? I always said “emO-tick-ONS” bc it’s derived from the word “emotions”.

Please do path social network forensic ! 😍