Newsletter #68 IM's Here, RU Ready?

Created on 05/06/02

A special hello to all new subscribers.

The last newsletter (8th May, 2002) was "Stop Them From Searching!" and can be found at http://www.netinsites.com/article3.cfm?ArticleID=94

This newsletter only goes to those who wish to receive it. Click on the link at the end of this article if you wish to remove yourself from the list.

---

AOL claims a total of 280 million screen names for their two Instant Messaging (IM) services, AIM and ICQ, and not all of them are teenage girls! In fact according to a new survey from Osterman Research (March 2002) people in 82 percent of companies are using some form of IM application although this percentage counts both official and unofficial use.

So what is IM? It's a communications technology that is more like the telephone, and less like email in that it's synchronous, meaning that responses are almost instant. To use IM you download an IM Client like MSN Messenger http://messenger.msn.com/, AOL Instant Messenger http://www.aim.com/ or ICQ http://web.icq.com/. Then it's a matter of setting up a 'buddy list' of people who you deal with a lot. Note that at this stage the different IM clients are proprietary so that they don't 'talk' to each other, although there are moves to integrate them more (see below).

IM does two basic things: It tells you who is connected to the network at any given time and it lets you exchange data - shorthand messages, documents or Website addresses instantly.

So why is IM so great?

• Instant messaging lets colleagues anywhere have a 'whispering-across-the-cubicle-wall' exchange, supporting collaboration and promoting a collegial feeling
  
  
• Because you choose your 'buddy list', it is your universe of friends or knowledge partners, unlike email that tends to be open to all. It is therefore a more pure communications channel that you can control
  
  
• It supersedes email because it pops up on the user's screen and is far more noticeable
  
  
• Questions are answered far more quickly and situations can be resolved without delay as the responses are almost instant. This is often not true of email where messages can be lost in the email flood and responses delayed
  
  
• You can see when an IM buddy is online and know that you can contact him or her quickly if need be
  
  
• IM can be used as a silent partner or knowledge resource during phone calls

#################################################################################### PROJECT MANAGEMENT -- If you or your company are planning an Internet project why not ensure its success by making use of our professional project management service? Check out this page www.netinsites.com/services/strategic.cfm or email us now for more information les@netinsites.com . ####################################################################################

Of course there are always disadvantages! Some of these are:

• It is relatively easy for a third party to intercept IM messages, although security is improving
  
  
• Because the ability to transfer files is a feature of IM clients it is easy for someone to send a virus direct to your desktop bypassing virus scanners
  
  
• Some people find IM a distraction as they are constantly interrupted by co-workers sending them jokes, asking questions or making observations. Most IM clients do allow you to turn your availability off
  
  
• Unlike email you normally don't retain a record of the conversation (this can be an advantage) so important information should be confirmed by email or other means.

There are several advances in the IM arena.

Firstly a service called Trillian http://www.trillian.cc/ which connects users of Yahoo, MSN, AOL and ICQ services together will mean that 'buddy lists' can extend across the proprietary IM clients. According to Jupiter Media Metrix’s Internet audience ratings for April, use of the program has now risen to 610,000 unique users, an increase of 77 percent on February.

A company called Communicator http://www.communicatorinc.com/ has developed a secure IM system for companies that allows commercial transactions to take place online and gives the company more control over the material transmitted and what is archived. The software comes in two forms: a Java-based stand-alone application and a non-Java version that runs within an Internet-connected Web browser. The service secures messages by sending them through SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), a transaction security standard that enables commercial transactions to take place online.

So what is the future of IM? IM may be the next application to change your company's power structure. The humble spreadsheet gave a budgetary edge to astute managers, but IM has the ability to develop self-organising communities that have little relationship with the existing configuration. The most influential and knowledgeable people may cluster together shutting out those they regard as incompetent or unworthy.

Before long, a true gauge of an employee's influence might be by looking at which and how many IM communities they belong to, not how long they've been there.

Alex Garden

---

Newbies

There are several ways that people can check where you've been online, although you can hide your tracks to a certain extent. The Browser's Cache, History, Typed URLs, Favorites and Cookies contain information about your browsing history. This month in Part II, we'll cover the last three of these using Internet Explorer (IE) as the browser:
The Browser's Typed Urls: A stored list of addresses that have been manually typed into the drop-down box on the location bar. To see them just click on the down arrow although they can be deleted by clearing the History.
Favorites: If a Website address is within Favorites it's probably visited at times.
Cookies are used by a large number of modern Websites but can be cleared if the browser is IE 6.0 (the latest version). If not they can be found in the c:\windows\cookies directory - quite often you can see what Website they come from by their description or you can click on them to open in Notepad. Often there is a Web address of some sort within the code.

For previous tips visit http://www.netinsites.com/hottips.cfm

Power Users

A super quick way of typing .com URLs into Internet Explorer. Press 'F6' to highlight the Address Bar, enter the address without the .com or http eg. 'netinsites' then 'Ctrl+Enter' for IE to complete the dot com address for you!

For previous Power Tips visit http://www.netinsites.com/hottips_power.cfm

---

This may sound a bit morbid but what a great idea! For an annual fee Timeless Email allows you to create and update email messages that are not sent out until after you die. To sign-up for the service you must have a valid (US) Social Security Number, as this is the only way that they can currently track when your messages should be sent out. In addition to email messages you can also upload a picture to be attached to your messages, and with the Premium Service you can upload a digital video. :-) http://www.timelessemail.com/

Been online for a while already today? Well click on this link and read carefully, no it is not an error page! https://the.ihug.co.nz/

---

We've added a great new article to the site called "Is the Information Revolution Dead?" by W. Brian Arthur which puts the recent dotcom boom/doom into a historical perspective. A great read at:http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,37570,FF.html

To search through all the articles in our online database just use the search function on any page of our Website http://www.netinsites.com

We've added another Quick Quote: "Ahead of the leading edge is the bleeding edge, where the seriously hardcore techies get their fingers sliced off by the new toys they are playing with." by Bill Thompson, computer consultant.
I like it!

You can see our other Quick Quotes on the front page http://www.netinsites.com; just refresh the page to see another one randomly selected from our database. Great for presentations or times when you want to appear to be a techno-dude(ss)!

---

To access previous newsletters visit our newsletter archive at http://www.netinsites.com/articles.cfm.

If you wish to subscribe to the email version, just send a blank email to subscribe@netinsites.com, or visit www.netinsites.com .

Best wishes

Alex Garden

Internet Strategy | Website Design | Website Promotion | Web Text Messaging | Email Newsletters | Online Sports Games | Content Management