Israeli society is not new to technology. Israel has actually provided the world with some major pharmaceutical breakthroughs, the intestinal camera small enough to pass through and give insight to the goings-on inside the human body, as well as the “firewall” – a program designed to block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communications. The Israelis have always been on top of the technological world and have the provided the rest of global community with the tools necessary to be technically efficient in every field necessary.
One of these technological advances is called ICQ, a social networking program that many Israelis, as well as the rest of the world, uses. ICQ is a homophone for “I seek you” and has over 100 million accounts registered. ICQ is an instant messaging computer program that was developed by an Israeli company called Mirabilis that was established by five Israelis: Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser, Amnon Amir, Arik Vardi, and Arik's father Yossi Vardi. These Israeli programmers wanted a way to connect people via the internet that was not possible before ICQ. The technology that this company, Mirabilis, developed for ICQ was distributed free of charge. Due to the success of the technology,AOL acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for US$407 million. At the time, this was the highest price ever paid to purchase an Israeli technology company.
Since ICQ many more social networking programs have sprouted up like AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and QQ(a Chinese instant messaging program and network). QQ was originally used under the name OICQ. This name conflicted with ICQ and the company changed the name to QQ.
Recently, though, other social networks are trying to jump on this trend. Facebook, a social network that allows users to add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Facebook has released a social messaging program called “Facebook Chat.” Growing in popularity, 300 million users, ICQ and similar instant messaging companies had a lot to worry about. The only real difference between the two programs is that Facebook Chat allows its users to instant message within a browser. ICQ does not need a browser to work as it is a program run through your computer. Luckily, ICQ conducted a survey and can put all of their fears to rest.
This survey reported that while 74 percent of Israeli youth utilize social networks, only 28% use the networks' chat applications and 53% still prefer instant messaging programs. There were three main reasons that ICQ found that people still prefer ICQ and other related programs: thirty percent of those polled said they preferred the ease of use of instant messaging, 20% preferred the fast response time, and 10% cited stronger security measures within instant messaging programs.
Vice CEO of ICQ, Shraga Mor, was very pleased that his company still has a place in the hearts and computers of Israeli youth. He said that "ICQ is proud to be a pioneer in the realm of instant messaging...the service constitutes a meaningful step on the path to communications development on the Internet.” He goes on to say that "from our poll, we learned that young people are dedicating a great deal of time to social networking sites, but when they need a personal communication tool, instant messaging programs provide the fastest and most comfortable experience."
ICQ has brought many people together who sign up and begin chatting with their friends, family, and sometimes random strangers. With these relationships with strangers that form online many Israelis can see these blossom into something more. ICQ is a great way to communicate with people you have just met or want to stay in contact with. Donna Rosenthal mentions that Israelis have to be aware that these new relationships mean being careful with how one comes off when meeting someone. There are strict laws against sexual harassment and one can get in a lot of trouble if they make any unwelcome passes. This is harder to monitor online with programs such as ICQ as one can sign up and make a profile under anyone's name and harass anyone they please. Still, ICQ has a good security team that anyone can write in to to complain and problems are dealt with quickly.
ICQ has been a strong program since 1996 when it first came on the tech scene and has remained at the top in terms of users and downloads.
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You too can join ICQ. Here is a taste of what it can do for you.
