Instant Messaging

Chat rooms can be good venues to meet people to discuss topics of mutual interest. But what if you want to chat privately with a friend, family member or business colleague? Then Instant Messaging or IM is the way to go. Many IM services now offer audio and video capabilities, so armed with a microphone and webcam, you can converse and see who you're talking to.

The four most popular IM services are AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ (now owned by AOL), MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. They all work similarly. First, you enroll in the service by creating a user name, which is also your screen name, and a password. Next, you build what is known as a buddy list--people that you want to communicate with. When any of your contacts is online, you can initiate a private chat with that person.

How do you know who's online? When you launch your IM software, it connects with the service's IM server and logs you on. The server checks your buddy list to see if any of your contacts are also logged on. Your list updates to show who is currently available. At the same time, your contacts' lists update to indicate that you're online. By clicking on a name you can send text messages to that person (or they can send them to you). After you type your note and click on the Send button, the message travels to the IM server, then immediately forwards to your buddy's computer. This all happens almost instantly--that's how this popular form of communication got its name.

With some services, you can also send messages to contacts that are offline. In this case, the message travels to the IM server where it's stored temporarily. Once your buddy logs on, zap--the message travels to his or her computer. It's similar to e-mail.

IM has exploded in popularity. In fact over one billion IM messages traverse the Net each day. Many businesses use IM as a way to keep in touch with clients and staff in far-flung offices or just down the hall. It's more immediate than e-mail and can be cheaper than a phone call. Yet IM has one potential problem. Members of some services can't communicate with those using another. It's as if subscribers to AT&T can't call Sprint customers.

The reason for this is an old story--a rivalry between key players. AOL and Microsoft can't seem to agree on technical standards and compatibility issues, so consumers lose out. The good news is that Yahoo! and Windows Live users can now IM each other.

If most of your buddies use the same service, it's not a problem. There's also nothing to stop you from using more than one. It just makes things a bit more complicated.