IM
here for you
Does this look familiar to you?
WifeyPoo (1:13pm): Can I ask you a question?
WifeyPoo (1:14pm): Are you there, hon?
WifeyPoo (1:14pm): Well?
WifeyPoo (1:15pm): where are you?
WifeyPoo (1:15pm): Let me know when you get back...
WifeyPoo (1:20pm): Helloooooooo???
If so, then you know the "joys" of instant messaging, the real-time text communication method that is taking over the world. (I'm not kidding. Analysts at the Gartner Group recently put out a report stating that in January alone, 15 billion IMs were sent; by the end of 2001 that number will reach 20 billion per month.)
Not that I'm complaining. I think IM is the best thing to happen to communications since the Little Rascals had the tin-cans-with-string phone. IMing saves on long-distance calls, there's no waiting (like there is for e-mail messages), you can usually tell when someone is really there or not to get your message, and it's a lot more fun than typing out Morse code. I had a walkie-talkie that did Morse code when I was a kid. Morse code is not worth your time unless you're in a submarine trying to be stealthy.
But there is a downside to IM, especially if you do work at a computer all day long. Having IM capability means you're always available, which means you can spend much of your day responding to messages.
Even if you're not available, it looks like you are to people who have you on their buddy or friend list. Step away from your desk and you can bet the computer screen fills with windows of messages from friends and co-workers dropping you a hello, asking a question or sending a Web address with a funny picture of George Dubya next to an almost identical chimpanzee. Or your boss asking about a document that was due yesterday (spending too much time IMing, are we?). The expectation by others that you'll reply instantly leads to many one-sided exchanges (like the one above). It's the kind of thing you set yourself up for when you join the world of IM.
The only hope you have if you step away from your computer is to make sure you turn off that instant messenger software, or use the feature most of the IM clients have to indicate to senders that you're absent, at lunch or in a meeting. Barring that? Expect to be on-call all day.
Eric Griffith is a senior editor at Access Magazine who's still trying to cut down to just 55 hours a week online.
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