IM not sure I care
The internets are abuzz with talk of Google's entry into the instant messenger playfield. Of course, Google could leave a booger on the underside of a desk and the internet faithful would trip over each other trying to get at it. And, I am guilty. I downloaded it and Google Sidebar this week as soon as they were available..The problem is...I'm not sure I care. Instant messaging is obviously a very popular form of internet communication but in discussing the phenomenon with Chad this morning, I realized how little I care about Google Talk or IM, in general. Studies say that among youth on the internet, they greatly prefer IM to email and view email as old fashioned and out of date. I suddenly feel like there is an internet generation gap beginning to develop. For quite a while, you either were on the internet or you weren't. Of course, there are levels of interest in the web and web enhanced products (if this post pops up via RSS in your Google Sidebar, you, my friend, not only have great taste, but are part of the top echelon of internet users).
Broadband vs dialup is a huge dividing point but that largely falls to two main factors. Availability and interest. You either can't access a broadband connection or you aren't that into technology. What seems to be developing now is an age separation and maybe I am simplifying it by assigning it to age alone, but it seems to be the dominant contributing issue. My sister, who is five years younger than I am, is part of the IM generation, yet I am not. She went through her developmental years of adolensence with IM as a huge part of the way she and her friends communicated.
I, on the other hand, got my first computer when I was about 8 and was logging onto BBS on a 2400baud modem. I also recall that when I was in high school and developing the majority of my social skills (or lack thereof), e-mail was new and cool. It became part of my language.
Another thing that I actually am a little bitter about when it comes to instant messaging is the pushiness of it. Cell phones are bad enough. I don't like feeling like I have to get back to someone at this very instant. I don't like the pressure of responding quickly and often feeling forced to do so. I like to organize my thoughts and edit my ideas before sending them out for ridicule to the cruel world. I like the fact that I can ignore an e-mail for a couple hours (or days) before getting back to it.
So, screw you, instant messaging. Sure, I have Google talk installed, but I do it in slight protest and only because I still love Google (mainly for Earth, Maps, and Mail.) Although, A_B is right, they do seem to be sliding towards overbearing.
And one PS...is it just me or is the sidebar kind of ugly and unoriginal. I uninstalled in about two hours and moved to Desktop Sidebar.
posted by Jeremy @ 10:14 AM
8 Comments:
I got into IMing because of college. We used "zephyr" to send windowed messages to individual friends or class members as a group. But they didn't "thread" like the chat windows. It was like you got a headline, and clicked it to make it go away.
It was ok on machines with some sort of graphical display, but over tty, it was so awful if you were in the middle of a paper or something and some schmoe sent you a screenful of text.
We also used talk/ytalk/ztalk/other talk variant to talk to people off-campus, like friends in other schools.
Then Seppo and I used ICQ initially when we were doing the long distance relationship bit. It all sort of built up from there.
I talk to about 3 friends online everyday, and maybe another 5 or so on a bimonthly+ basis.
At my old work, we were unofficially required to be on icb (something like irc) for our various work teams. Now, we are unofficially required to be on AIM, as we have a lot of people working remotely, whether that's from home or from another state. It's kind of hard to avoid out here.
Sometimes, I talk to my sis in Korea or my bro in Atlanta via IM, if it's not urgent (which would require phone use) or important (which might require email so that we remember all the stuff we need to convey). Lately, I've seen my little cousin online too (he's in Southern CA) so we chat sometimes.
The thing I think I am out of the loop on is instant messaging over mobile devices, whether it's sms or whatever, because I just don't feel like using it all that much.
Those gmail tips you linked are awesome. Thanks!
After a day with Google Talk and with no one to talk to on it, and about a bazillion people on AIM and Yahoo Messenger via trillian (I don't have trillian pro), I don't think I really care either. I will still see if I like it, but right now, I can't tell what the UI is like in use, because I haven't been able to use it yet.
Unlike IM, I use SMS quite a bit. I like it, because it's like voicemail, in that I don’t have to respond right away, but it’s quicker and easier to reference again later. Actually, it’s more like email on my phone, even though I have email on my phone, but most people don't so we send text messages instead. Unlike a phone call, I can respond at my leisure.
I think that’s what it comes down to for me, “at my leisure”. Like many people these days, I spend at least 8 hours a day looking at a computer screen. Most of that is work related, but there’s also personal email, blogs, message boards, just tons of information flying at me all the time. Anything that doesn’t demand my immediate response, like a phone call or IM, is welcome.
I used to feel a lot of pressure when responding to IMs (or waiting for a response), but I totally just wait until I feel like sending off a line. And same with my friends. It's like serialized sms... on your computer! :D
Ditto the main post. IM *ptooey*
You can pull the ole' Helava trick and just set yourself as "Away" all the time, so that you don't feel like you have to respond right away.
- Mike
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