Is instant messaging dead?

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
I run Trillian and stay connected to the four major instant messaging networks (AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, and MSN) most of the time I have my computer turned on. It seems that I spend far less time chatting than I did in years past. When I first established Tribe of Judah in 1999 and for a few years after, it seemed like I spent a good portion of my time just chatting with people.

In recent years, it seems fewer and fewer people use instant messaging to stay in touch. Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook now offering their own spin on instant messaging. Programs like TeamSpeak, Ventrilo, and Skype offer real-time voice communication, minus the phone bill. Forums offer robust private messaging systems. And, of course, a few people still use e-mail.

Is there a place for instant messaging any more? Is instant messaging dead?

And if so, how does one stay on the bleeding edge of the digital age and stay in touch?
 
txt is leik totolly teh new fad, omgosh tek get w/ teh times
 
Nah, instant messaging is still live and kicking. It's probably that no one wants to talk to you.

BURN!

On a less humorous note, yeah there's always a shift in technology. You're right about Facebook and Skype (and similar programs) taking over dated tech. I still use instant messaging to keep in touch with old friends and to have real time conversations, and for that reason I don't see IM every dying, but always advancing.
 
Tek7 said:
Is there a place for instant messaging any more? Is instant messaging dead?
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There's a certain someone on this forum that tells me I need to be on AIM more, so I am going to disagree.

Tek7 said:
And if so, how does one stay on the bleeding edge of the digital age and stay in touch?
Click to expand...
I say you have to text on your phone (a talking device...) while you are driving to stay in touch.
 
Instant messaging will never die for me. It's just a lot easier to carry on a conversation when availability isn't always easy. I would much rather have 5 messages waiting on my on AIM or IRC than check my voicemail and have 5 or so messages. Also, having a baby that sleeps wherever he pleases, it's a lot quieter to type than talk, I can be kinda boomy voiced sometimes.
 
I use Pidgin(with a MSN, Yahoo, and AOL accounts), and I've not noticed a real drop in conversations -with the exception of those people who have my cell phone number. Once people learned I have unlimited texting they don't mind sending me all kinds of random messages... :rolleyes:
 
lol i IM everyday. Xfire is the main one. Yahoo is not so big for me. And AIM is just for one person. ;)

But i can understand a "dieing" IM feeling. And i dont think its just IMing. yes its gotten hit hard, but its still alive. I think people are just communicating less and less these days.

But then again. There are times when im on Guildwars, having 2 PM's there, talking on alliance chat, get 2 Xfire messages, have someone come on Yahoo, and get a text message. Those are the fun times.. unfortunatly i havent learned how to play well in those situations. ;)

And i'm all for helping relight the IM flame :)
 
I use im as my primary means of communications for those who are quite distant to me. 95% of my CGA functionality is done via IM..:)
 
The majority of my communication with everyone, even those very close to me, is done through IM. They have Lotus Notes at the office where I work, which has built-in IM, and I even type at people instead of poking my head in their offices. I like it better.
 
I have Pidgin installed but it rarely gets switched on. Maybe i should more now i am getting back into things here. But i dont spend enarly enough time on my pc to have a conversation with people..lol

(Luckily i can login to here on my lunchbreak)
 
Oh! Oh! Oh! Maybe we're all just getting old, and as such our means of conversing are changing, as well as our feelings about other people (maybe we don't care about THAT guy as much as we used to...).
 
in corporate environments, it's dying a bit, at least in the form of MSN, AIM and such. the move is to unified communications which is a much stronger (and cooler) amalgam of email, IM, VOIP, mobile and so on. I <3 my Office Communicator.
 
Bowser and I were talking about real-time digital communication tonight and the question, "Is instant messaging dead?" came up during the conversation.

It's been nearly 2 years since the prior post in this thread, but the question remains valid.

Several chat clients capable of connecting to multiple networks are available for free download and use. Steam and Xfire both allow instant messaging in nearly all popular games. Some chat clients now include Facebook Chat functionality. The pressing issue regarding instant messaging now seems to be fragmentation rather than decline.

But even using Trillian (which supports all major IM networks), Steam, and Xfire simultaneously, it seems I don't spend nearly as much time chatting with people as I used to. It might be that I'm in a different season of life than when I spent the most time chatting online or that I'm not involved in some of the same projects (The Battles of Dylar IV, Sounds of StarCraft, and others) as I used to be years ago.
 
its getting there. the thing is, social networking is replacing it with the illusion that your still connected and text is more real time since its a instant message to the phone ya know?
 
I almost never IM anymore.

If I know the person I need to IM with, iits usually done via texting now. Texting is easier and can be done [almost] anywhere.

If I cant text them then I'll hit them up on Facetube.
 
I almost never IM anymore, although it is always running in the background. I think that everyone on my IM list has my cell number, and I have unlimited texting, so I just text everyone, instead. The few people that don't have unlimited texting plans on their phones usually just hit me on facebook, since i tend to leave it always on, too.

That is not to say that I waste my whole day on facebook, merely that I leave the webpage up on my laptop, and when I finally come back, I check that tab. (disclaimer in case my wife reads this thread and wonders why I didn't get any work done around the house today... it was gaming, not facebook *grin*)
 
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