WE INSTALL NETMEETING - THE BEST IN VIDEO - AUDIO CONFERENCING
Instant messaging has long been used as a method for keeping in touch with family and friends when surfing the Web. But recently companies and independent professionals have discovered ways to use IM to improve business communications. In a poll of Fortune 500 companies, 46 percent reported that they planned to use IM services in their business by 2002, according to Forrester Research, an independent research firm located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Companies are using IM for a variety of activities including staff meetings, immediate file transfer, customer service chat, training feedback, and instant collaboration among eWorkers. "Businesses have found that IM is the most cost-effective and convenient way to stay in touch with telecommuters and traveling employees,"
Gallagher likes instant messaging because it allows him to multitask. "If I'm on a phone call, one of my staff members can send me an instant message, and I can respond to the need immediately without having to interrupt the call," he says. "It's a useful tool for general meetings too &emdash; the equivalent of passing little notes in the back of the room."
Currently, instant messaging is plagued by a lack of industry standards. Unlike e-mail, where you can send a message to anyone with an e-mail address regardless of the service provider, instant messaging uses proprietary software. This means that if you're signed on with AOL instant messaging (AIM), for example, you can only chat with other AIM users. Some IM users handle this problem by signing on to multiple messaging services. Sechler regularly signs on to ICQ, MSN Messenger, and AIM. Though this makes her screen a bit busier than otherwise, she feels its essential to make it easy for her clients and coworkers to reach her.
Security Issues - Although IM is used in many businesses, some companies are reluctant to adopt. They cite security concerns about using the public network for sensitive business discussions. "Instant messaging is about as secure as e-mail," says Schneider, who follows various web conferencing technologies for About.com an Internet information network.
To improve security and protect your computer from malicious programs, she recommends that users make sure that their settings refuse file transfers from persons unknown to them. Another option is to use an IM program specifically designed to operate behind a firewall. Lotus Sametime, for example, provides a more secure Intranet solution to instant messaging needs.
Getting Started - To take advantage of instant messaging, you'll need messaging software, a browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and an Internet connection. Many IM programs are free, do not require that you sign-up for additional services, and are quick and easy to download. For example, you do not have to be an AOL member to download and use AIM for free.
The most popular instant messenger programs are:
* AOL Instant Messenger [AIM] (www.aol.com)
* ICQ (www.icq.com)
* MSN Messenger Service (www.msn.com)
* Yahoo! Messenger (www.yahoo.com)
After installing the software, you enter the user names of your contacts (e.g. BigCoSteve or AnneSmith555) and let them know yours so they can add you to their lists. Most of these programs also make it easy to forward the software and instructions to friends and associates who are not yet signed-up. Once you've entered your contacts, you will be able to see who is online by glancing at your "buddy list." To send an IM, simply click on a name in your list, enter a message, and send. It's that simple. Of course, there are a number of useful features and extras associated with each IM service, which you can pick up along the way. A word of advice, however: avoid the urge to change your IM typeface to "bold, red, 16 pt. Palatino" and end each sentence with a smiley-face emoticon. In electronic messaging, as in all forms of professional communication, simple is best.
June Langhoff is the author of The Telecommuter's Advisor. You can reach her via e-mail at june@langhoff.com.
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