22 years ago, real-time communication was going down to IRC (Internet Relay Chat). But soon after, as internet users were beginning to feel the taste of online real-time communication, new technologies such as instant messaging software were slowly creeping up on IRC. But the next big thing is the microblogging website, Twitter. Romanian managers talk about their debut in the online chat and what determines the lifespan of these communication tools.

The early days of IRC

In 1988, Internet Relay Chat was born, and opened road for real-time internet text messaging. Maybe one of the most popular online text messaging application in the 90s was the mIRC, where users would chat in rooms, and have private conversations. However, they didn’t have friends list and after logging off, they could receive offline messages.

But how did Romanian managers use this online communication tool? Mugur Patrascu (photo), managing partner at iLeo said he began using mIRC and ICQ to chat with his buddies back in 1999. “I was logged on all day long and when I had the time, I would spend hours in front of the computer”, said Patrascu (blog.ileo.ro).

Laurentiu Pop (see LinkdIn profile), deputy managing director at Httpool Romania, was using mIRC to chat with his high school buds.

Adrian Stanescu, country manager Thinkdigital Romania & Moldova, began his journey into the online communication back in 1998-1999 still with mIRC. “It was more like an entertainment or even dating tool. People would chat in the chat rooms, and users would join the rooms according to the topic. But there were also weird people in these chat rooms, and you couldn’t select the users by yourself. I remember a time when in a Starcraft session break, I came across with a chat room created by an eccentric guy and totally deranged. The room was called «Sex with snakes, mice and other cold anim