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Youth AIM (fun) vs. Work AIM (information)

*I have two AIMs - work and fun. Sometimes I sign on to work aim just to talk to people at work about work. Its kind of sad that our population is now too lazy to walk over to other people to ask questions. But fun aim is good.

• I groan when co-workers ask me to add them to IM so they can "ask me quick questions" at work. Stopping to type you a message takes more time than just talking to you. Plus if it's open, then friends feel the need to talk to me as well. IM has little use in the workplace, and I consider it unprofessional.
• I used AOL AIM all the time in college. I stopped using it 24/7 when I stepped out into the real world. I noticed like the thefacebook, AIM is great when you live near your social network and have an opportunity to bump into them once in a while.
• AIM is great for work. It's the middle man of e-mail and face-to-face interaction. It, however, will never substitute gossip at the water cooler.
• Yahoo and MSN are more popular at work. AOL AIM is more popular with the generation that grew up with AOL chat (when AOL made you pay for each minute you were online).
• The worst distraction of all distractions. First thing that needs to be shut of if you want to actually get something done.
• I cannot get anything done at work when if I log into Windows Messenger (Not MSN Messenger) So, the only way to reach me is by eMail or phone.
• Work IM helps to keep the email count to a minimum. Without it, you end up with 100s of emails amounting to no more than a paragraph of text. IM ends the need for the "Thanks" or "Got a minute" emails.
• I should never have given my freelance boss (I telecommute part-time) my personal IM address. Whenever I sign on he tries to bother me about doing more work. I'm a sucker.

*I used to be on AIM all the time in college. My current job doesn't embrace AIM as part of the culture, so I hardly ever sign on during the day. But even at home, I only sign on deliberately (as opposed to having it on all the time like I did in college) becuase my conversations are actually conversations on AIM now, which I don't always have time for. In college, I used AIM for relaying quick info like "have you eaten yet?" or "can I get your notes from Monday's lecture?"

• It's much more of a planning tool than I realized at first - especially when I'm at work. While it's common for IM to be banned in the workplace it's also common to have workplace IM handles, which of course are subject to many other uses and abuses.
• For mobile workforces IM has many benefits. When an entire team is in the same office it's of limited use - you can just turn around and ask a question. If a team involves some telecommuters, some off site members and some on the road you can get casual interactions that aren't possible online in any other medium.

*Does anyone have experience with dedicated work IM systems like a secure jabber server?

• The internal work IM is locked down so people cannot chat outside of it and that's fine by me, it's useful as we're spread across the planet and 'walking over' is just impossible. Plus, coworkers can't bother you on your day off unless you are dialed in. Fun IM is okay, although the past three years or so the sparkle is off the pearl so to speak. I loathe the 'get to know you' Q&A grind.
• Jabber is used all across our large, very dispersed IT company. However, it allowed us to join our Jabber work account with outside accounts (AIM, MSN, Yahoo, etc). The let the company keep workstations "clean" from all the other junk those IM software packages install, allow access to the corporate network through only the jabber port instead of ALL those ports, and it allowed corporate monitoring.

We use IM all the time

• I'm in grad school now and I never use IM. I prefer email bc it gets to the point and you know exactly who you're sending msgs to/receiving msgs from.
• I use it every day for 5-6 hours. Anytime I'm on my computer, it's on. I am actually IMing with my sister and with an old friend as I update this wiki. Sometimes I even leave my IM signed on at night with a witty away message to see if anyone will respond.
• Everybody uses AOL Instant Messenger for socializing with friends. I also use Yahoo Messenger at work, but that might have something to do with the fact that I work at Yahoo..
• Instant messaging's influence cannot be overstated: This is how many relationships form ("you can be cooler on IM than in real life"). It's how most of us communicate with our friends, especially in college. IM lets us get easy, instant answers from a huge network of people. (IM has played an integral role in forming and shaping my social network over the last 8 years. When I was too shy/socially inept to communicate with the opposite sex face-to-face, IM provided the perfect alternative. I've actually had romantic relationships that might not have blossomed if it wasn't for IM--the physical detachment and perceived pseudo-anonymity of chatting online allowed me to be more forward and honest with my feelings than I ever could have been in person. IM also allows friendships to develop because IMing someone is much more casual and less intrusive than calling or visiting, and so people can build up a social history/framework with each other at a non-threatening pace that they can control.)
• Once we graduate from college, some people can't get online from work, so we have to either find workarounds (Meebo, etc) or stay in touch in other ways, like email.
• As young people go into the workplace, we adapt to use IM there, too. It makes conference calls feel slow, it's easy to log minutes in a meeting, and it allows you to skip slow, boring meetings.
• There also seems to be a split between people who are chatting nearly all the time they are online and people who are online, but will not initiate conversations unless they need something. For these people, IM is a means to an end.
• I stopped using IM when I realised that it makes me stressed out that anyone could talk to me at any time, but I didn't really want to talk to them. When I start 5% of the conversations I'm a part of, something's fishy.
• I have hundreds of contacts, but I usually only chat with a few people each day, and often when I just want to ask them a quick question.
• I have a fairly small contact list. Only people I frequently talk to or need to talk to. I think my contact list is a fairly disiplined group of people who IM responibly. If I'm busy, no one bugs me.
• I don't chat with a ton of people, but I keep it up all the time. In my away message I'll put up links or information for my friends, sort of like a textual voicemail. When I don't have time to call my boyfriend (we're long-distance) IM keeps us closer. I definitely don't use it as much as I did in high school or my first year of college -- I think that's normal. We've moved from "I need to put my entire day into my away message" into "I'll just leave up something all day, so people can leave me a message."
• I tried IM 2 years ago and HATED it. I NEVER USE IT. It's invasive and I hate that stupid tone and the flashing crap when someone writes sitting there waiting for me to DROP WHAT I'M DOING to answer them! Call me on the telephone (I love screening my calls with caller ID!) or send me an email--that way, I have time to CRAFT a response not see how fast I can type a witty retort. I just hate the sound/flashing crap and fake "urgency" with IM. Can you tell I like it??? EMAIL ROCKS AND IM SUX!
• IM is handy but can impair productivity. When I need to work but hate the idea of missing a message I just log in from another PC sent myself busy and let the IMs pile up while I work uninterrupted. Please don't email me, most of the time saying 'hey' is great in IM, sending me an email just makes more toil for me. Unless there's something to share that I will find valuable don't bother, I'll probably delete it sight unseen anyway. 'ZOMG Funny LOL!!!' message forwarders will be shot on sight. Even so my contact lists are culled regularly and if I spend 10hrs a month actively chatting it is a lot.

Why we use IM

• We don't want to buy things, play games, or anything else on IM. We just want to chat.
• Most of us have 50-100 friends on our buddy list, although we don't actively chat with nearly that many people. Some of them are just on our buddy list so we can peek at what they're up to. (I probably talk to a handful of people on my buddy list on a daily basis, but the other 95 friends I leave on there anyway, even if I haven't spoken to them in years.)
• People enjoy reading away messages and profiles. I still read profiles of people who I haven't talked to in years, sometimes I don't even remember who the people are.
• IM is a great way to keep in touch with people who you otherwise wouldn't take the time to call. It's also useful to send quick notes to people and ask quick questions.
• We don't ever click on that stupid ad above our buddy list. (Actually, I'm embarrassed to say that I've clicked on it once or twice, but in my defense, it was due to sheer boredom at work--and clicking your mouse makes you sound busy and productive, while sitting idly at your desk does not.)
• IM shares an important characteristic with e-mail and cell phones: it provides an easy way to build up a set of contacts. Much as with phone numbers, we don't really remember the screen names in our buddy list, since they're always at hand when we use IM (IM is really built around the concept of a list of contacts, which distinguishes it from e-mail and phones), so our buddy lists are valuable resources.
• IM can be used like an answering machine. One advantage IM has over traditional voice mail is that it is easier for the outgoing message to be customized to be more informative about the user's whereabouts.
• I use it at work to talk to offshore developers in India. It is better than the phone because our respective accents are too hard to understand. IM is easier to communicate and understand each other.
• With Google Desktop and DeadAIM offering good AIM logging functionality, IM conversations can be easily searched and retrieved later--making it easy to remember information discussed and decisions agreed upon. Sometimes this can be hard on the phone where people take away their own version of the discussion.
• Once we left college, all of my friends spread out all over the US. But with IM, every night I see them pop in and we can chat just like we used to. And we do, which has kept the circle rather close.
• Useful for keeping in touch, but abused too frequently to talk about touchy subjects in a disconnected setting. If you're not comfortable telling me about your sex life on the phone, don't IM me about it.
• On the other hand: allows for easy conversation of touchy subjects. If you're not comfortable talking to me on the phone about your sex life, just IM me!
• I have friends I talk to only on IM, and others I talk to only on the phone. It's funny how the medium can affect who you talk to and how.

The other main attraction of IM is it's a great vehicle for sharing photos, clever quips, and utter absurdity that might not be worth a phone call or even an email by itself.

• A great way to assemble a group of people for something last minute. If I had to call everyone every time I wanted to have an off-the-cuff party I wouldn't bother. I can touch base with someone quickly that I would not enjoy being stuck on the phone with. Being nocturnal I find IM easier than calling someone at 4am only to find out they went to bed uncharacteristically early that night. Plus most people don't check their email more than every 30min anyway. Plus talking to more than person on the phone at a time can be fun but also expensive, IM bridges that gap nicely.

IM technology

• I use Trillian, an amalgam of all prevalent IM programs. So handy! No lame ads or other junk either.
• We all use AOL IM
• Older people use Yahoo Messenger. Foreigners use ICQ and MSN and other stuff.
• Many technologically-inclined people use Gaim or Trillian, which allows you to use several IM protocols (such as Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, etc.) all at the same time.
• Also coming into play lately is skype. We use skype to work remotely with other consultants without running up the long distance telephone bills.
• I use Gaim because I can keep all my contacts in one place. I used to use Trillian, but now I use Gaim because it has a Linux version and I like to be consistent between machines.
• I use GAIM cause it supports encryption, cause i fear big government or I am doing something illegal - can't remember which.
• Gtalk & MSN Messenger. Trillian is a memory hog and Gaim seems buggy and without many features.
• I like how IM is integrated into Goowy (www.goowy.com).
• I love the new integrated Gmail & Google Chat. You can chat with your contacts without leaving your inbox AND you don't need to install or log in to any new software. A few of us have been using it at work and it's been great way to communicate with several people who don't have access to a telephone or a walkie-talkie. It saves a ton of time and it's made part of our job much easier!
• Trillian - My Family and new friends are on on Yahoo! My old friends are on MSN or AIM! My tech contacts are on ICQ and IRC. Plus it's encrypted if I please and with automated RSS feeds and email checks -- what's not to like?
• GAIM 2.0 is spectacular

*Also new technlogies coming out daily by the big vendors will make our life more easy!

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