Instant Messaging Moves from the Home to the Office

Instant messaging (IM) quickly established itself as one of the most popular modes of communication, with millions of people logging in at home, at the workplace, and at school. IM is an Internet protocol (IP)-based application that provides convenient communication between people using a variety of different device types. IM enables two people to exchange messages and hold simultaneous conversations without incurring long distance fees, as long as they use the same IM application. While corporate users employ proprietary systems, end users have several commercial services available to them, such as AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo! Instant Messenger. With IM, users can exchange short text messages simultaneously as well as learn the online status of other users. This is IM’s key feature.