We’ve covered chat and discussion forums, now what about instant messenger (IM)?

I’ve always considered IM programs to be one on one, directly-connected chats.  IM shares the “real time” nature of chat, in that both parties need to have the software loaded and running in order to be useful, although messages can be sent to someone who is “offline”.

The other nice thing about IM is that it has what’s called “presence awareness”, which is a way of telling others that you are logged into the system and are:

- Free for Chat
- Away
- Do not Disturb
- Extended Away
- Out to lunch

IM shows you the status of other users on a “buddy list” that you’ve added people to.

I’ve recommended IM to small businesses as a way for employees to indicate to other employees that they are available, or are “heads down” in the middle of a project that they really need to focus on.

IM programs may also include a group chat function, audio or video conferencing, so the distinctions between it and other web communication tools is getting blurred.