When Steve was introduced to an early online messaging system called Internet Relay Chat in 1994, he was excited to meet like-minded people. “I was living in Essex and working for a telecommunications company, so unlike many I had access to the internet and computers,” he says. “I joined an early online group for Kate Bush fans and we splintered off into another group for fans of a New York singer called Happy Rhodes.” He says the communication tool was “very slow” by today’s standards. “It showed every letter someone typed,” he laughs.
In the US, in Connecticut, Lisa was introduced to the same messaging program by one of her friends. “I was doing a neurobiology PhD at the time,” she says. “I was living alone and working in a lab by myself a lot. She gave me a disc which meant I could talk to people all over the world, so I had to try it out.”
