Instant messaging is an interesting concept. Instant access to everything we want is very much part of our culture now. Do you remember life before cell phones? We just understood that you had to leave messages and that folks would get back to us. We even wrote letters sometimes. Email was considered an amazing way to communicate and FREE. Now our ability to connect with others has increased exponentially.
I haven't done much IMing, perhaps because none of my friends really uses it much. I guess I'm more of the generation of, "why not pick up the phone and call?" I speak better than I type and I'm a pretty good typist. Or why not just email? It's pretty fast. I'm trying to think of the applications that this would be useful and I guess Gamers love IM.
I use text messaging all the time. I use it because my friends and daughter use it, but I have many friends that don't use it. I find that texting is a better way of communicating with my babysitter than leaving a message because she won't necessarily listen to her messages--too many steps. Text messages you can read instantly.
At work we have been responding to email questions for over a decade and it works well. It's also pretty quick to turn it around if they email during open hours. All librarians participate in Ask-a-Librarian online chatting. This is fun and sometimes challenging but a great idea.
Ths r my thghts. C U L8TR.
