Instant Messaging

History of Instant Messaging

Prior to the introduction of the World Wide Web to the public in 1991, some types of Internet servers (namely UNIX servers) had an antecedent IM function called “talk” that allowed users to check and see if other users were online; if they were, then parties could conduct text-based, nearly synchronous conversations. With the advent of the World Wide Web, the growth of the Internet took off. In 1996, an Israeli company called Mirabilis designed and released a program called ICQ (“I Seek You”). Unlike its predecessor, ICQ took advantage of the new graphic capabilities of the World Wide Web to create user-friendly and simple interfaces, and it allowed users to communicate with other users anywhere in the world, as long as they were connected to the Internet and had ICQ active. ICQ was also the first commercial application that afforded users real-time presence information for a contact list of friends who also used ICQ. Shortly there after, America Online (AOL) developed a similar feature for its subscribers (the AOL Buddy List). In 1998, AOL purchased ICQ from Mirabilis and made their AOL Instant Messenger program available to everyone, not just subscribers to their network.

After 1998, numerous companies created their own messaging programs, with MSN Messenger and Yahoo Instant Messenger joining AOL's Instant Messenger [Page 667]and ICQ as the most popular instant-messaging programs. However, the programs are not interoperable; users who wish to send an instant message must use the same programs at their intended recipient. Jabber and Trillian are two programs, among others, that allow users to have one interface that runs multiple instantmessaging programs, but the user must still have an account with the system that provides each individual program.

Uses of Instant Messaging

Beyond enabling text-based conversations between two people, instant-messaging software (which varies in functionality from program to program) also allows users to engage in private group chats. Some programs also allow for the exchange of files, including audio and video files. Others have video or audio components that let users with microphones or Web cameras mounted to their computers send audio or video of themselves as they instant message. Recently, ICQ, followed by AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), allowed their software users to send instant messages to cellular phones that are capable of receiving short text messages, potentially freeing IM from the limitations of the desktop computer and moving it into the wireless arena.

Instant messaging has two main uses. First, it functions as a tool for personal and social communication, mostly among known others for the purpose of reinforcing and developing relationships, quickly exchanging information, and planning face-to-face social meetings. Second, it is used in the workplace as an aid to small groups, particularly those who are not in the same geographic area. About half of U.S. corporations use instant messaging. A survey predicts that by 2004, the number of global business instant message users will top 150 million people. Workplace users of IM appreciate the presence feature, which tells them who is available; they also like the fact that IM makes it possible to plan meetings or query others with short questions quickly, and they report that it facilitates informal workplace dialogues and connections.

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