This article deals mainly w/ Instant Messaging within the US market, but contains good insight into general usage trends. Despite the fact that it is from Yahoo Internet Life, a somewhat cheesy and often self-promotional rag, it is well worth the read.
In terms of good buzzwords, Gartner's research director Rob Batchelder, who is said to have a knack for coining them, describes IM's rapid-fire method of communication as "bursty." I like it. However, I'm not too sure if I agree with his prediction of the flattening of smaller IM-related companies like ActiveBuddy. I agree that companies like Jabber and Trillian may have a really hard time, since they compete directly *against* AOL, Yahoo & MSN by offering (really cool) cross-functional multi-standard IM technology. But companies like ActiveBuddy, who add functionality to IM platforms by working *with* the "heavy hitters" seem to be in a pretty good spot to ride the IM wave.
Read it, and decide for yourself ...
Generation IM
Yahoo Internet Life
A fascinating in-depth examination of how instant messaging is transforming human communication, not just among teens but also in business where it's become widespread and indispensable. The Pew Internet & American Life Project last year found that 44 percent of all online adults have used IM. The article, which notes that exploration of innovative new uses of the application is accelerating: "[IM is] on the cusp of metamorphosing into a bona fide computing platform in its own right: It may very well signal the arrival of what might be called a post-Web world."
- commentary from Corante.com
Friday, April 12, 2002
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