Instant messaging

Draft

Instant messaging is a form of text-based real-time communication on the Internet

• “Instant messaging allows you to maintain a list of people that you wish to interact with. You can send messages to any of the people in your list, often called a buddy list or contact list, as long as that person is online. Sending a message opens up a small window where you and your friend can type in messages that both of you can see” - (How Instant Messaging Works retrieved 13:40, 27 May 2006 (MEST))

• “Instant messaging requires the use of a client program that hooks up an instant messaging service and differs from e-mail in that conversations are then able to happen in realtime. Most services offer a presence information feature, indicating whether people on one's list of contacts are currently online and available to chat. This may be called a contact list.” Wikipedia:Instant messaging.

See also: shoutbox, portable chatroom, micro blogging, extensible messaging and presence protocol.

Features and benefits

Here are the most common features:

• Instant messages
• Contact List management
• Web Links sharing
• Files transmission
• Audio conferencing
• Chat rooms.

Benefits:

• In contrast to e-mails or phone, the parties know whether the peer is available (users can set to online or offline status if they wish).
• People are not forced to reply immediately to incoming messages.
• There is a trace. Instant messages typically get logged in a local message history
• It is easy to exchange links (compared to a phone call).

Standards and systems

Standards

• Most popular services are based on proprietary technology, except Gtalk that is based on XMPP, the extensible messaging and presence protocol.
• However, some clients like the the open source Wikipedia:Gaim allow to communicate with different "universes".

Types

• Internet Relay Chat (IRC) like systems (the original, 1996)
• Typical modern systems like AIM, MSN, Yahoo that offer many features (including voice and video chat).
• Small IM blocks integrated into portals like LMSs and C3MS (web based, no special client needed).

Popular systems

• AIM (America online)
• MSN Messenger (Microsoft)
• Yahoo Messenger
• ICQ ("I seek you")
• Gtalk (Google)

See the Wikipedia's instant messaging article for more systems.

Instant messaging in education

• on-demand formal tutoring
• peer-to-peer informal tutoring
• on-line discussions (chats and specials educational chats are better for that)

Links

Instant messaging

• Jeff Tyson, How Stuff Works, How Instant Messaging Works
• Wikipedia: Instant messaging

VoIP (should be moved to a separate article some day ....)

• Voice over IP (Wikipedia)
• Comparison of VoIP software (Wikipedia)