History
The use of the Internet gave rise to the significance of E-mail, as the Internet revolutionized the way people interact and communicate. While there are many benefits to E-mail, faster forms of communication is sometimes needed. The need for faster and more efficient forms of communication via the Internet gave rise to instant messaging (IM), which is an instantaneous form of communication between senders and receivers based on a text-based transmission of information that occurs real-time. IM-chat is effective and efficient such that there is immediate receipt of acknowledgement and reply between two or more participants over the Internet. There are several aspects that frequently come with IM programs: instant messages, chat rooms, video, images, sounds, files, talk, streaming content, and mobile capabilities.
Instant messaging began before Internet during the 1960s on multi-user operating systems that were used as simple notification systems, such as for printing. The Zephyr Notification Service that was invented in 1980s allowed service providers to send messages to users. The first online chat service is known to be the CompuServe CB Simulator in 1980.
Real-time text in instant messaging existed in early versions, where characters appeared as they were typed. This real-time feature exists in modern versions as well, such as AOL’s Real-Time IM. From 1985 to 1995, Quantum Link, a U.S. and Canadian online service for Commodore 64 and 128 personal computers operated a Q-Link which featured electronic mail, public domain file sharing libraries, instant messaging, etc. The instant messaging was known as “On-Line Messages” (OLM) that was later known as “FlashMail.”
The modern graphical user interface (GUI) that we see today began during the mid-1990s, with clients such as PowWow, ICQ, and AOL Instant Messenger. With this interface came more features including emoticons and the ability to send pictures between users of the IM client. Instant Messaging has grown to encompass many more features since the mid-1990s including the ability to do voice and video chat, the use of IM in webtop applications (shown by Meebo and Gmail), sharing of desktop and files, and sharing of hyperlinks. The use of instant messaging has also came to social networking sites as it provides a quicker way to interact with your network online.
Technology
The technology in an all-in-one instant messenger controls both your user interface and your connections to each instant message protocol. Each one includes some way to keep track of the profiles you add, such as saving this information in a user profile or configuration file on your computer. Besides maintaining this and other common features, developers for all-in-one instant messengers have to decide how to keep up with the latest updates to each protocol.
Each protocol needs to know specific characteristics included in each message the user sends or receives. First, it needs to know the data types that the protocol handles, and how the service expects that data to be encoded. Second, it needs to know how to recognize a packet associated with that protocol, which involves frame types and headers used in TCP/IP networks. Finally, it needs to know the application programming interface (API) that directs the server and clients for that protocol.
Some businesses behind some proprietary instant message protocols have tried to limit use of those protocols to their own client applications. They have refused to publish the data type, packet or API information about their protocols. However, enthusiastic developers have found ways to capture each protocol's packets from network traffic, study the data, and reverse-engineer the protocol. With this information, they've added each protocol in their own instant message clients. Some approaches allow organizations to deploy their own, private instant messaging network by enabling them to restrict access to the server and administer user permissions. Other corporate messaging systems allow registered users to also connect from outside the corporation LAN, by using an encrypted, firewall-friendly, HTTPS-based protocol. Usually, a dedicated corporate IM server has several advantages, such as pre-populated contact lists, integrated authentication, and better security and privacy which is important in a workplace environment for communication with team members and support personnel.
With growth in the open source movement, some companies have opened up the API for their instant message protocols, making it easier for them to keep up with ongoing changes. For example, AOL opened its OSCAR protocol as part of its Open AIM 2.0 Developer Program in March 2008. OSCAR is the protocol currently used by AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ.
Importance
Business Application: Instant messaging has proven to be similar to personal computers, email, and the web in that its adoption for use as a business communications medium was driven primarily by individual employees using consumer software at work, rather than by formal mandate or provisioning by corporate information technology departments. Tens of millions of the consumer IM accounts in use are being used for business purposes by employees of companies and other organizations.
This can be seen in the financial industry as many more brokers are using IMs to communicate information about trading quickly. As voice has its limitations, especially in the stressful environment of the trading day on the trading floor, IMs are used to quickly send information about order volume and price with a record of what was communicated earlier.
In addition, IM has proved to be a powerful tool in customer service. It is not uncommon now to see vendors provide support or debugging solutions via an IM service on their website to a trained technician. Customers are now able to interact with a technician at the onset of a problem without wait time on hold when they call the company. The technician is also able to see the user’s computer and the specific issue first hand, instead of having the user explain it to them. Technicians are also able to handle multiple customer issues at once as they are able to switch in and out of IM windows for each client.
Personal Benefits: IM also has many social benefits. First and foremost, you get real time interaction with the other person. This lets you see how they handle conversation, are they responding to your questions quickly and in good humor or do they seem distracted, taking a long time to respond or ignoring your direct questions. In addition, the other person is able to respond to your messages when they want if something else comes up and they are able to juggle multiple conversations at once. It provides an open communication portal to the other person that can be accessed as needed unlike phone conversation where it would seem strange to sit on a conversation without saying anything for many moments. Using instant messaging also lets you have a first interaction in a totally anonymous way, so just in case you don't get a good feeling about this person, you can simply shut down the conversation.
It would be incomplete to not mention the language impact that the use of instant messaging has had on our culture. This has stemmed from the use of text slang such as the replacement of words with letters (“you” becomes “u”, “are” becomes “r”, etc.) and the use of widely known acronyms (such as “lol” – laugh out loud). This has increased the consolidation of unnecessary speech when communicating short messages between people and has increased the effectiveness of information sending with short messages between people. The addition of emoticons to speech has made it possible to also send visual representations of emotions along with messages, enhancing communication based on text alone. There are both advocates of the change in language siting that it has a positive effect on grammar and phonetics, and people against it as they believe it is damaging the linguistic development of many young people.
Future
The future of instant messaging from a technology standpoint is the aggregating of different IM protocols to a consolidated number of outlets. This will allow different IM providers (Gmail, AOL, MSN) to communicate with each other. Essentially, by consolidating the different paths that IMs travel across, users will be able to interact with users in other IM programs and will be able to reach the people they need to talk to easier. The recent opening of IM APIs is a large step in the consolidation of protocols.
As indicated by CNET’s view on the future of IM, the providers of the service will have increased access to the user due to the penetration of broadband and WIFI into the home and through mobile devices. As it stands now, communication through IM and email labels users with a username. The IM providers will essentially become like current telecom companies as they will control the information of communication to users. Telecom providers can only access users as far as the phone wire goes or access to a cell tower is close. With IM providers, the messages can reach the end user if the user is offline or online and the user only needs access to internet. IM providers are also able to access users internationally through the same service; a advantage that telecom companies are unable to provide.
From there, IM providers will bundle their service with other communication needs for consumers including internet. For example, if AOL could bundle their communication service (IM in the future) with the internet access of Comcast for a bundle to sell to consumers that would encompass all the consumers telecom needs. This is a trend that has occurred in the telecom industry (Verizon’s FIOS, Comcast’s Triple Play, etc.) and is anticipated in the IM world.
The use of the Internet gave rise to the significance of E-mail, as the Internet revolutionized the way people interact and communicate. While there are many benefits to E-mail, faster forms of communication is sometimes needed. The need for faster and more efficient forms of communication via the Internet gave rise to instant messaging (IM), which is an instantaneous form of communication between senders and receivers based on a text-based transmission of information that occurs real-time. IM-chat is effective and efficient such that there is immediate receipt of acknowledgement and reply between two or more participants over the Internet. There are several aspects that frequently come with IM programs: instant messages, chat rooms, video, images, sounds, files, talk, streaming content, and mobile capabilities.
Instant messaging began before Internet during the 1960s on multi-user operating systems that were used as simple notification systems, such as for printing. The Zephyr Notification Service that was invented in 1980s allowed service providers to send messages to users. The first online chat service is known to be the CompuServe CB Simulator in 1980.
Real-time text in instant messaging existed in early versions, where characters appeared as they were typed. This real-time feature exists in modern versions as well, such as AOL’s Real-Time IM. From 1985 to 1995, Quantum Link, a U.S. and Canadian online service for Commodore 64 and 128 personal computers operated a Q-Link which featured electronic mail, public domain file sharing libraries, instant messaging, etc. The instant messaging was known as “On-Line Messages” (OLM) that was later known as “FlashMail.”
The modern graphical user interface (GUI) that we see today began during the mid-1990s, with clients such as PowWow, ICQ, and AOL Instant Messenger. With this interface came more features including emoticons and the ability to send pictures between users of the IM client. Instant Messaging has grown to encompass many more features since the mid-1990s including the ability to do voice and video chat, the use of IM in webtop applications (shown by Meebo and Gmail), sharing of desktop and files, and sharing of hyperlinks. The use of instant messaging has also came to social networking sites as it provides a quicker way to interact with your network online.
Technology
The technology in an all-in-one instant messenger controls both your user interface and your connections to each instant message protocol. Each one includes some way to keep track of the profiles you add, such as saving this information in a user profile or configuration file on your computer. Besides maintaining this and other common features, developers for all-in-one instant messengers have to decide how to keep up with the latest updates to each protocol.
Each protocol needs to know specific characteristics included in each message the user sends or receives. First, it needs to know the data types that the protocol handles, and how the service expects that data to be encoded. Second, it needs to know how to recognize a packet associated with that protocol, which involves frame types and headers used in TCP/IP networks. Finally, it needs to know the application programming interface (API) that directs the server and clients for that protocol.
Some businesses behind some proprietary instant message protocols have tried to limit use of those protocols to their own client applications. They have refused to publish the data type, packet or API information about their protocols. However, enthusiastic developers have found ways to capture each protocol's packets from network traffic, study the data, and reverse-engineer the protocol. With this information, they've added each protocol in their own instant message clients. Some approaches allow organizations to deploy their own, private instant messaging network by enabling them to restrict access to the server and administer user permissions. Other corporate messaging systems allow registered users to also connect from outside the corporation LAN, by using an encrypted, firewall-friendly, HTTPS-based protocol. Usually, a dedicated corporate IM server has several advantages, such as pre-populated contact lists, integrated authentication, and better security and privacy which is important in a workplace environment for communication with team members and support personnel.
With growth in the open source movement, some companies have opened up the API for their instant message protocols, making it easier for them to keep up with ongoing changes. For example, AOL opened its OSCAR protocol as part of its Open AIM 2.0 Developer Program in March 2008. OSCAR is the protocol currently used by AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ.
Importance
Business Application: Instant messaging has proven to be similar to personal computers, email, and the web in that its adoption for use as a business communications medium was driven primarily by individual employees using consumer software at work, rather than by formal mandate or provisioning by corporate information technology departments. Tens of millions of the consumer IM accounts in use are being used for business purposes by employees of companies and other organizations.
This can be seen in the financial industry as many more brokers are using IMs to communicate information about trading quickly. As voice has its limitations, especially in the stressful environment of the trading day on the trading floor, IMs are used to quickly send information about order volume and price with a record of what was communicated earlier.
In addition, IM has proved to be a powerful tool in customer service. It is not uncommon now to see vendors provide support or debugging solutions via an IM service on their website to a trained technician. Customers are now able to interact with a technician at the onset of a problem without wait time on hold when they call the company. The technician is also able to see the user’s computer and the specific issue first hand, instead of having the user explain it to them. Technicians are also able to handle multiple customer issues at once as they are able to switch in and out of IM windows for each client.
Personal Benefits: IM also has many social benefits. First and foremost, you get real time interaction with the other person. This lets you see how they handle conversation, are they responding to your questions quickly and in good humor or do they seem distracted, taking a long time to respond or ignoring your direct questions. In addition, the other person is able to respond to your messages when they want if something else comes up and they are able to juggle multiple conversations at once. It provides an open communication portal to the other person that can be accessed as needed unlike phone conversation where it would seem strange to sit on a conversation without saying anything for many moments. Using instant messaging also lets you have a first interaction in a totally anonymous way, so just in case you don't get a good feeling about this person, you can simply shut down the conversation.
It would be incomplete to not mention the language impact that the use of instant messaging has had on our culture. This has stemmed from the use of text slang such as the replacement of words with letters (“you” becomes “u”, “are” becomes “r”, etc.) and the use of widely known acronyms (such as “lol” – laugh out loud). This has increased the consolidation of unnecessary speech when communicating short messages between people and has increased the effectiveness of information sending with short messages between people. The addition of emoticons to speech has made it possible to also send visual representations of emotions along with messages, enhancing communication based on text alone. There are both advocates of the change in language siting that it has a positive effect on grammar and phonetics, and people against it as they believe it is damaging the linguistic development of many young people.
Future
The future of instant messaging from a technology standpoint is the aggregating of different IM protocols to a consolidated number of outlets. This will allow different IM providers (Gmail, AOL, MSN) to communicate with each other. Essentially, by consolidating the different paths that IMs travel across, users will be able to interact with users in other IM programs and will be able to reach the people they need to talk to easier. The recent opening of IM APIs is a large step in the consolidation of protocols.
As indicated by CNET’s view on the future of IM, the providers of the service will have increased access to the user due to the penetration of broadband and WIFI into the home and through mobile devices. As it stands now, communication through IM and email labels users with a username. The IM providers will essentially become like current telecom companies as they will control the information of communication to users. Telecom providers can only access users as far as the phone wire goes or access to a cell tower is close. With IM providers, the messages can reach the end user if the user is offline or online and the user only needs access to internet. IM providers are also able to access users internationally through the same service; a advantage that telecom companies are unable to provide.
From there, IM providers will bundle their service with other communication needs for consumers including internet. For example, if AOL could bundle their communication service (IM in the future) with the internet access of Comcast for a bundle to sell to consumers that would encompass all the consumers telecom needs. This is a trend that has occurred in the telecom industry (Verizon’s FIOS, Comcast’s Triple Play, etc.) and is anticipated in the IM world.
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