My new buddies

I made a major change in my life today. I set up an Ichat instant messaging account and IM'd a "hello" to the two coworkers now on my buddy list. That was it - just "hi - I'm here!" So, I still don't know whether this new service has much to offer me. But, just making the connection was huge. For years, I have been a vociferous opponent of instant messaging. It seemed to me about the most annoying thing I could imagine. When I read that some corporations were requiring employees to use the service to communicate with each other, I shuddered.

Each time I have set up a new computer or installed a new operating system for the last few years, one of my fist moves has been to eradicate the AOL IM software. I wanted no part of the ubiquitous AOL, with their total lack of concern for the environment as they flood counters and mailboxes with heavily packaged free software CDs. The little IM man that would pop up on my screen as I started the new system seemed insidiously evil, part of a culture that I didn't want to be a part of.

I realize now that a lot of other software is available to IM. So, I decided to give it a try.

I have always loved e-mail. It gives me the opportunity to communicate in my preferred medium - the written word. I seldom get the urge to pick up the phone and chat, but I love to write e-mails. The trouble with e-mail, however, is that if you use it to exchange questions and short bits of information regularly, as I do, your inbox quickly becomes cluttered. So, I thought maybe instant messaging would be better for this type of communication. We'll see.

I'll keep you posted, good buddy.