Odigo Messenger was an early

social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...

based on instant messaging. Odigo believed in connecting and forming friendships: members would "meet" if two or more visited the same web site simultaneously. Odigo Messenger allowed members to connect to other IM networks, such as ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger. Odigo was purchased for an estimated $20 million by the Israeli company Comverse Technology in 2002. Comverse leveraged Odigo server software for instant messaging solutions in cell phones. However, since Comverse had no real interest in maintaining a generic IM service, it eventually shut down the free service in 2004. The service first became available in 1999 and carried multiple brands during a spell of affiliations with different web services provider. Although originally made available by Odigo, Inc., the service was supplied by Comverse, who used it to help innovate and forward their wireless products. The word Odigo comes from the Greek "οδηγώ" which means "I guide/lead/drive/steer".

Odigo and the 9/11 investigation

Odigo reported that, two hours before the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

, two of their employees who were working in an Odigo office in Herzliya Pituah, a city near Tel Aviv, received a hostile English electronic instant message non-specifically threatening them that a terrorist attack would happen. They did not mention this to their employer until after they heard reports of a terrorist attack in the United States on the news, after which they informed the company's management. One of Odigo's

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

offices was then situated within a mile of the World Trade Center complex. However, the threatening message did not mention the location of an attack. The company took the initiative in tracking down the originating IP address of the message, giving the information to the FBI, so that the FBI could track down the Internet Service Provider, and the actual sender of the original message. Using the "people-search" function, Odigo users can send anonymous messages anywhere in the world to other users, who they can find based on demographics or location. According to ''The Washington Post'', the message declared "that some sort of attack was about to take place. The notes ended with an anti-Semitic slur. The messages said 'something big was going to happen in a certain amount of time'".David S. Fallis and Ariana Eunjung Cha, "Agents following suspects' lengthy electronic trail; Web of connections used to plan attack", ''The Washington Post'', 10 October 2001

References

{{reflist Windows instant messaging clients Software companies of Israel September 11 attacks Defunct instant messaging clients

Odigo and the 9/11 investigation

See also

References