Are pop-up boxes giving way to the dimishing use of Instant Messaging? Following up Windows’ plan to incorporate instant messaging with Windows Live, AOL and AIM are looking for new and creative ways to keep Instant Messaging more social and viral. Statistics prove that AOL Instant Messaging has seen a 4% drop within the past year. Instead of spending time with these old fashion chat windows, people are flocking to websites like Facebook and emailing sites like Gmail, where people can talk to their long-time friends while checking their mail or facebook messages. This technique is proving to be successful by attracting more consumers to their sites. The wide array of chat options are making it hard for IMing to compete.
In hopes to succede in the new communication world of the internet, AOL has established their own “facebook” in Bebo. With Bebo, AOL will allow users to have a IM dashboard following Bebo users from page to page. With Bebo, users will get access to other people’s page off of their buddylist — converginig AIM and Bebo. With this idea, AOL hopes to gain the same popularity as the Facebook toolbar, which was used by 75 million people last year (about 60% of facebook users). Facebook’s toolbar has attracted the attention of other social networking sites such as Flixster, which has recently updated it’s site with a real-time messaging system. Flixter’s messaging was created by Meebo, a site that allows people that don’t have AIM or MSN messanger (or other IMing components) installed onto their computer, chat without having to install the IMing program. So I guess it can be agreed upon by the majority that AOL is alittle behind the game. Such a toolbar could be a good way of advertisement as well. Do you think if sites such as facebook would start charging people to be a user, such as AOL did, would people still be dovoted users of Facebook? Is there room for this many different types of communication on the web? or these many social networking sites? Either way, IMing is being transformed as we know it, to be more convineint and accessible like everything else on the web– Instant Messaging 2.0.
6 Comments
November 18, 2008 at 12:05 am
I think that along with facebook is the idea of video chat. With the plethora of laptops loaded with video cameras, people are turning more and more to visual mail and chatting. Its ease of access is such that simple programs such as iChat can connect children and parents, friends across the world, or someone four doors down that you just dont want to walk.
November 18, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I’ve been using instant messaging probably since the 6th grade. It is the type of program that I use most to keep in contact with my friends more than the chats on Facebook or gmail. I haven’t seen much of a change though in the past 7 years, besides regular updates. The only thing, as Harrison pointed out, is webchatting has become much more popular especially with such programs as Skype, which is free and easy to download, that allows people to chat with anyone from around the world.
If sites such as Facebook began to charge people who are using their sites, I think there would be a riot. Perhaps people would find something new to move onto similar to it, rather than pay it because the great thing about Facebook, Skype, and instant messaging is that it allows you to stay connected to others for free. So why pay, when there is something out there that lets you do it for free.
November 30, 2008 at 8:52 pm
As Denise Tran pointed out, if Facebook began to charge people for use of their website, it would be a disaster. It would essentially defeat the essense of Facebook, a FREE social networking site that allows you to connect with friends and post any aspect of your life that you wish to be viewed by your friends online. Sites such as MySpace would immediately fill the void left by disgruntled users leaving Facebook because of premium of the site.
I dont think AIM can catch up to Facebook chat because, as it was noted before, they did not change their web strategy. Although they were the first social networking tool to have a profile feature, it was a very basic one, limited to only a page where u could only write stuff. Facebook allowed users to post so much more, including preferences, statuses, applications, and so much more. Adding a chat feature essentially spelled gloom and doom for AIM, as its longtime users (myself included; like many others, I’ve had AIM since 7th grade) had already switched to Facebook and the chat feature gave them a chance to talk to friends while perusing their Facebook profiles.
The Bebo feature is too little too late for AOL. Facebook already has the firm hold on the social networking industry that AOL once had, and AOL may never be able to overcome that.
December 8, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I have been using AIM forever and now that I have a macbook I love that I can ichat with all my friends. Ichat is something that you cannot do with facebook or gmail. I don’t think that AIM really has to worry because there are people who only use aim and not facebook chat, and even when peopel do go on facebook, they always resort back to AIM for things like ichat. It all has to do with a personal preference. The only thing that I can see happening is facebook improving chat and adding a sort of ichat feature or something even better that we don’t know about yet.
December 9, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I would say that AIM has lost users because of facebook chat, but i personally still like AIM better than facebook chat.
facebook chat does not work as well as AIM does, and has a lot of glitches.
I personally use iChat which works off AIM, and i really like the way it works, it is easy to use and well designed.
yet, i also have started using Skype this year for video chats, since i hate AIM video chats.
my past experience has not been good with video chatting on AIM, it always would loose connection or just quit, which is why i switched to skype.
I have also used the text chat feature of skype, and i might say that i personally like that better than AIM text chat, but not enough of the people i talk to use skype everyday for me to make the switch.
May 8, 2009 at 6:51 am
kmNUhi comment6 ,