Instant Messaging (IM)

Instant Messaging, or IM, is my absolute favorite way to communicate. It is quick, easy, and to the point. With phone calls you have to make with pleasantries and all the crap that goes with them, with emails I feel like you have to be so formal and people do not always get them right away. But IM, I mean, it is in the name: INSTANT. I love it while I am home and I loved it when I worked in a real office. It is perfect if I am doing work and I have a question for a client of my business partner. I especially like that a lot of IM options show you when someone has read it. That way I can tell if someone has actually received the information. It is nice to just toss a line and say hello to a friend or ask a question that I need an immediate answer for. Obviously, I do not use it if it is a long drawn out question, or I know they will have a long answer. Then I call or email. While I was working at DARPA we loved g-chat, even if we were sitting in the same office. It keeps the office quiet but you still can ask when someone wants to go get coffee or why the damned printer isn't working again.