I spend a lot of time each day communicating with colleagues and clients, by phone, email, on social networks, and via the occasional fax. But when I need to have a short conversation and get an answer right away, instant messaging is hard to beat. Unfortunately, there are several IM protocols, and most of them don’t talk to each other. That’s why I use the multi-protocol IM software Adium on the Mac and Pidgin on the PC. I can also use a web-based alternative like Meebo or the new Imo.im.
VoxOx wants to take multi-system communication several steps further. In addition to the various IM protocols, it supports social networks (Facebook, MySpace and Twitter); SMS texting; faxing; private email; file sharing; video conversations; and voice connections. VoxOx also supports Skype messaging, although you have to have the Skype software running, which sort of defeats its purpose. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: instant messaging, voice, Facebook, myspace, twitter, news, voip, skype, Pidgin, sms, video, file sharing, texting, meebo, adium, voxox, imo.im, faxing, #ef09_newteevee
The addition of Gmail Voice and Video Chat to Google’s list of services brought back to mind a question I’ve been thinking about for a while: have we gone past the saturation point in having different ways to chat with people? Even if you count only real-time ways to talk to people, there are a pile of instant messaging applications, more audio chat options and conference call providers than you can shake a stick at, and video options including Skype, Oovoo, and Gmail – to name a few.
And that’s not to mention just walking down the hall to talk to someone in person, which is not an option for a lot of web workers.
Read the rest of this entry »
As a web worker, I find myself involved in a lot of online conversations – I mean, a lot. As I write this, for example, I have four instant messenger windows open to people on various services, I’m hanging out in 3 Campfire rooms and 3 IRC rooms, and have several private IRC conversations going on as well. Sometimes Skype chats come into the picture for me as well. Fortunately, such conversation tends to be asynchronous, and can be fit in between other things – but managing it all is still a challenge. Here are 4 tips that have helped me keep the situation from getting out of control:
1. Get a Unified Client. Assuming that you have contacts spread across multiple services (as most of us do), the first thing to do is to get a unified client to cut down on the number of applications that you have to run at one time. This also gets rid of time spent flipping through interfaces, trying to remember whether Jane was on MSN or GTalk. I’m using Adium (OS X only) at the moment; in the past, I’ve had success with Trillian or Miranda on Windows as well. These solutions aren’t ideal – I’d love to find something that aggregates all the chats I’m in – but they help.
Read the rest of this entry »
In a previous post about communication tools, WWD reader Melanie made an accurate observation that having an instant messaging client open while you’re working is like having the phone ring constantly. Despite this, IM is useful for instantaneous back-and-forth exchanges with clients.
How can we reconcile its usefulness as a communication tool with the fact that it can be downright annoying?
Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve noticed that web workers tend to be particular about their communication tools. Twitter is usually for mass sharing, wikis or collab apps are for project discussions, while email is for almost everything else.
We all have our own preferences when it comes to communicating with others. I prefer email for general communication, instant messaging for answering quick questions, and my land line for long, personal conversations.
But not all people understand this – especially if they aren’t web workers. In fact, before I had a system in place, I felt like a doctor who was on call 24 hours a day. The good news is that there are some things we can do to get people to reach us through the channels we prefer.
Read the rest of this entry »
Hot on the heels of Windows XP SP3, Microsoft released an additional treat today, for Mac owners only, as the latest release of Microsoft Messenger for Mac (version 7) escaped into the wild.
Version 6 brought the Aqua look and feel to Microsoft’s client amongst other features, so what’s new in 7?
- A redesigned buddy list with a search-as-you-type box for locating contacts in large buddy lists.
- Aping iChat with integration of Bonjour contacts drawn from the user’s local network.
- Users can apply nicknames to their buddies, particularly useful for contacts who frequently (and irritatingly) change their screennames!
Notably for users connecting via a corporate Office Communication Server, Bonjour and searchable buddy-lists also extend to enterprise IM networks.
Read the rest of this entry »
Google Talk gives you instant messaging, Gmail notifications, voice calling from PC to PC, and file transfers (though the last three are not available in Gmail chat or the Gtalk gadget). Recently, they’ve added group chat and AIM integration too. You can access it in a bunch of ways because it’s based on Jabber, a set of open instant messaging protocols supported by a variety of services and clients.
Here are tips starting with the most basic to help you get the most from Gtalk.
Read the rest of this entry »
I spend a lot of time each day communicating with colleagues and clients, by phone, email, on social networks, and via the occasional fax. But when I need to have a short conversation and get an answer right away, instant messaging is hard to beat. Unfortunately, there are several IM protocols, and most of them don’t talk to each other. That’s why I use the multi-protocol IM software Adium on the Mac and Pidgin on the PC. I can also use a web-based alternative like Meebo or the new Imo.im.
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
