Definition of Messenger - What it is, Meaning and Concept

Messenger is the name with which the software Windows Live Messenger was popularly known.This software , created by Microsoft , allowed instant communication between two or more users.For example: "Connect to Messenger so I tell you how it was in the interview" , "Yesterday I was talking to Luciana in the Messenger" , "If you don't study, I'm going to ban you from using the Messenger" .

Windows Live Messenger was born as MSN Messenger .As of 2005 , this instant messaging client joined the set of online services called Windows Live and it is estimated that I have gathered more than 330 million users use Messenger every month at their best times.In 2012, Microsoft began to gradually remove it from its platforms, for gradually replacing it with its recently acquired Skype, which had already gained great popularity until that moment, especially for its ability to make international phone calls at low cost.

The Messenger could be used on a computer ( computer ) or from certain mobile devices.Although it was created as a chat client (to exchange written messages in real time), the The program grew until it became a very complete software that facilitated all kinds of communications and file sharing.

With Messenger it became possible to chat, talk or make videoconferences between two computers.It was also possible, in some countries, to establish calls from the computer to a telephone ( Windows Phone had their own mobile version of the program).

Another option offered by Messenger was the possibility of sending messages to those users who were disconnected, who received the message once they started their session in the program.This worked as an «answering machine »And, although it is currently a common function in any product, it was very revolutionary at the time (although the authorship of this feature has not necessarily belonged to Microsoft).

Messenger , on the other hand, had games that allowed you to challenge a contact.By accessing a specific menu, a user could invite another to play, specifying the game through Internet .

The shared folders that facilitate file sharing is another tool that included Messenger ; Once again, there is currently no mail or messaging service provider that does not allow its users to share files, but this function was very striking in its historical context.

The decision to combine Windows Live Messenger and Skype, retaining the name of the latter, was criticized by many, but also flattered by others, since Skype had achieved great popularity thanks to having taken advantage of the fever of the smartphones intelligently.While Microsoft reserved the benefits of its messaging client for users of its own phones (the Window Phones), Skype offered itself for free in a host of devices and allowed voice calls and video calls without cost additional.

It is important to clarify that the Skype service does not replace the one provided by a telephone company, but rather complements it; One of its basic differences is that it does not allow emergency calls to be made and that it requires an Internet connection to work.It is currently possible to use this "successor" of the old Messenger with an Outlook, Facebook account or, of course, Skype itself before the merger.

Just as it happened with brands such as "Gillette", "BiC" and "Voligoma", Messenger became the common name for all instant messaging programs that preceded it and succeeded it, at least for a large number of people, especially those who actively lived the success of this popular application, although a fan of the mythical mIRC would never have confused their names, but in the best case would have put them in the same sentence to denounce any of the cheeky copies by the house of Windows, many users began calling "messenger" to any software of the same genre.