I believe ICQ was round then.
Instant messaging began in the mid-1990s with Dulles, Va.-based AOL allowing online users to communicate faster than through e-mail.
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:fUfgCp0pngoJ:www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewStory.cfm%3FrecID%3D15671+instant+messaging+began+in&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4
Instant messaging is a blessing and a curse
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2002/10/28/focus6.html