Yahoo! And MSN Messenger Services Fastest Growing IM Applications

  • November 16, 2000
Media Metrix today reports that while AOL Instant Messenger remains the dominant instant-messaging application according to overall users in the U.S., Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger Service each have accumulated approximately half the number of users as AOL Instant Messenger and have become the fastest growing instant-messaging applications in terms of overall users over the past year.

Yahoo! Messenger, from its launch in June 1999, grew to 10.6 million users in August 2000, while MSN Messenger Service, from its launch in July 1999, grew to 10.3 million users in August 2000. AOL Instant Messenger, which launched in May 1997, grew from 18.1 million users in August 1999 to 21.5 million users in August 2000.

"Instant-messaging applications are proving to be very popular with consumers," said Doug McFarland, president, Media Metrix. "But their different features and lack of interoperability cause users, especially heavy users, to adopt more than one brand in order to keep in touch with all their friends and colleagues."

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