Internet Communications - IM and video conferencing

Communication over the internet is now quite advanced. You can call people free of charge through your computer, have video conferencing with more than one person, and take over each other’s computer screens from a distance. This is not particularly new; instant messaging (IM) has been available for free for some time, and have had a slow adoption, possibly due to inferior internet speeds.

However, the use of programs such as iChat, Skype, MSN messenger have been increasing lately, particularly with the advance in voice calls over the internet. All applications are free and easy to set up. Skype is slightly different to other IM, as it allows you to call landlines and mobiles for a small charge, as well as computers for free.

Interoperability

IM has been used within corporations for many years, since 1990. There are major issues with the lack of interoperability between different applications, which is one of the reasons for its slow rate of adoption outside the large company. Recent developments have improved this situation, however, although there is still more work to be done. The table below shows the level of interoperability between the most popular IMs:

Which should I choose?

Which one you use will be up to you. I suspect your choice will depend on your operating system, the functionalities you require, and most importantly, on what your friends and business colleagues use.

Voice and video

Further to the basic text chats that you get, the newer Instant Messaging clients have the added functionality of free voice and video calls. This has the potential to make Instant Messaging clients more powerful than the telephone. For a sector such as architecture, which above all is a visual activity, the added video feature can come in very handy. You can sketch in real time or give quick demonstrations, and converse over visual material. The video functionality is taken one step further with an application like iChat, which has the option to let you see and control the computer at the other end of your chat conversation. This means you can provide help, advice and opinion to distant co-workers.

When will it catch on?

Of course, there's no point in using IM when you don't know anyone who uses it. Reed's Law states that social networks such as IM grow at a rate exponential to the size of the network. So setting off an avalanche is easy; put your IM usernames on your business cards and email footers, and see how your local area will react to this new medium.

Further Reading

iChat Skype AIM Google Talk Yahoo Messenger Microsoft Messenger - mac