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

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MSN Messenger helped shape our adolescent years, from annoying nudges and animated emoticons to talking to your crush and expecting a reply.

But if we look back, we can see that it was more than just teenagers chatting amongst themselves. It was part of a war between now-faded giants that were unknowingly laying the foundations of social networks.

And now, it's completely gone. How did this happen?

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#startups #Slidebean #msn

0:00 - MSN Messenger - Intro
1:04 - MSN Messenger - Origins
3:02 - MSN Messenger - An addicting platform
4:20 - MSN Messenger - The curse of success
5:45 - MSN Messenger - Windows Live and a new identity
6:55 - MSN Messenger - Desperate efforts for an identity

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Caya

[MarlonEnglemam]

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!

[Jimfowler]

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

[prhasn]

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

[danisrael]

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

[willissudweeks]

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.

[MangoChannel]

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

[vetrickonassis]

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

[BrillTech]

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

[darkspeed]

MSN Messenger statuses were like an early form of Twitter

[matthus]

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

[containedhurricane]

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

[Bendabasil]

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

[SamMartinPeakPerformance]

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

[reko]

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....

[Dashz]

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

[EnmanuelQuinones]

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

[Tarex_]

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

[aleblasco]

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

[zadm]

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.

[EdwardForster]

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.