No algorithms, likes or advertising: Is Discord the future of social media? 17 Jan, 2021 04:00 AM 8 minutes to read The Discord app has a massive valuation based on its growing popularity. Photo / Getty Images Other By: James Titcomb for the Telegraph Even before most people had personal computers, when the internet was largely occupied by a ragtag bunch of hobbyists and researchers, they used it to chatter. Internet Relay Chat, or "IRC", invented in 1988, was a primitive technology for sending messages online. Unlike the even older email system, in which one might have to wait minutes for a reply, IRC allowed people to talk in real time, sending short bursts of consciousness to a group, more like the way conversations work in real life.