Why use code names instead of version numbers, you ask? Well, let me answer a question with a question. Can you remember words or numbers more easily? Our answer is words, and thus code names are born. Besides, it is much easier talk about a specific AIM version as a name than as a number.

We tend to use code names from differing themes. I thought you'd like to hear about some of the past code names we've used, and the history behind them, so here goes.

Remember sometime back when we released "AIM Triton". Well, that is a rare example of an internal code name being released publicly. It came about during the time when we were using either college names, or college mascots. Since this release featured a new UI (User Interface), we let our UI designer at the time pick the name. Since she had attended UCSD, the code name became "Triton."

Since then we've switched themes to older sitcoms. Our past AIM 6.0 client release (in 2006) was code named "Jeffersons", no reason other than we needed something fast, and that was suggested. We continued the same theme into 2007 with our AIM 6.1 release being "Cheers," hoping we could celebrate the release with a "blow-out" party in Boston. No such luck and thus resorted to a celebratory Happy Hour at our office.

Our current release AIM 6.5, is code named "Gilligan." Once again, our dreams were driving our decision with hopes of celebrating the release at a resort on a Caribbean Island, but will, once again probably just have a party at our office.

Check back often to see what our next AIM release's code name will be! If you have suggestions, sticking with the older sitcoms theme, please let me know. The name has to begin with a letter greater than "G" since our new management would like the names to be alphabetical for the calendar year.

Hey all -- My name is Ryan, and I guess I am considered the rookie of the AIM team (well for now, anyway). Being a year out of college I'm trying to bring a fresh perspective to the team on how our target market uses instant messaging.

I certainly have the coolest job. As a Product Manager, I get to use my creativity and brainstorm cool features for my favorite communication tool, AIM. I can remember getting my first instant messenger account with AOL in 7th grade (wow feels like forever ago). I rushed home from school after I realized that I must have been one of the last people in my class to sign up! What should my screen name be? What if the one I want is taken!? Surely frantic decisions to tackle with little time to waste. So I went with something that involved the word "Angel"and "xoxo" I know, I know -- I'm actually embarrassed now to admit this.

Logging on for the first time was eye-opening. I had a list of screen names that I scribbled on loose-leaf paper at the lunch table, and was ready to click that plus sign to add them to my Buddy List. From then on I was hooked, racing home after class to update my away message, trading new acronyms with my friends, and of course "stalking" my class crush (because he was on my buddy list and didn't even know it!)

I never would have thought ten years later that I would actually be working on a product that I used religiously day-to-day. I still get just as excited when someone I haven't spoken to in ages IMs me, or when I check my friend's buddy info for the latest video-clip-of the week.

All of this nostalgia was the result of this great clip I stumbled upon the other day from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Trust me I LMAO when I first saw it. I'm not sure if many of your have heard of this dude, Nick Thune, but he really describes how, for some, IM infiltrates our lives, changes the way we communicate, and lets us score some points in our love lives! (whoops is that TMI?) Check it out:

I'm not a designer, but this blog link on Digg caught my eye over the weekend: "Die Speech Bubble Logo, Die!" where blogger Trevor Elliott decries the general overabundance of speech bubbles and talk bubbles in Internet company logos.

He offers more than a few examples:

Now, as a general unsophisticate with a limited imagination, I like what the speech bubble implies. Speech is talk and talk is chat (even in text).

However, I do agree that what started out as "talk/chat" metaphor has been extended as a shortcut for practically anything that involves "communication." So it may be a bit of laziness from a design perspective.

Therefore, all you other Internet companies should pay lots and lots of money to designers and brand consultants and come up with something new.

Since AIM's logo is a pretty prominent example of the speech bubble, I asked some of the AIM designers what they thought.

The AIM logo used to feature the AOL Running Man -- it was changed approximately fall of 2005 to incorporate the speech bubble:

They, like I, are inclined to give us a pass and grandfather us in (current employment status notwithstanding), since AIM is explicitly person-to-person communication and also includes a voice component.

Looking at some more recent examples, the People Connection branding from the last redesign also incorporates a bubble:
Again, I think I will let this one slide for reasons stated above.

However, I did have the opportunity to push back on one instance of talk bubble usage. Our early designs for the Social Media Blog comments incorporated the speech bubble, since we started working off the Comics Alliance design, which does use the talk bubble (because, after all, it is a comics blog):

Did I make the right call? Let us know how you feel about the talk bubble logo.

Thanks -- Joe

Um, I love Robot Chicken and their AIM-speak.