AOL's ICQ: Can Instant Chat Coexist with Internet Commerce?
America Online hit the Internet jackpot in June, 1998, when it bought Tel
Aviv-based Mirablis Ltd. Sure, AOL spent a rich $287 million for a
company that wasn't making any money. But it got a healthy Net lode in
return: Mirabilis' wildly successful instant messaging software known as
ICQ. For those not fanatically into Net culture, ICQ has an passionate
global following among young techies who have long looked down their
noses at AOL. Best of all, ICQ's use has been growing exponentially.
Now, AOL is ready to try to turn this global Web phenomenon into gold.
On Dec. 1, the company announced that Mirabilis' ICQ software (which
stands for "I seek you") surpassed 50 million registered users, up from 12
million when AOL bought it. Next, AOL will start peddling e-commerce
to ICQ's Net-heads. And early next year, upgrades of ICQ will include
content channels, more e-commerce, advertising alerts, and new offerings
such as Internet telephony from partner Net2Phone. "It's rare to reach this
large a market, and rarer still to get a very, very global audience," says
Donn Davis, chief operating officer of AOL's Interactive Properties.
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