Instant Messaging

Instant messaging is a way to chat in real time with people over the Internet. You can download chat client programs such as AOL, Yahoo, ICQ, and/or MSN Instant Messengers for free to use to talk to people. I’ve never known anyone who used ICQ or MSN Instant Messengers, so I can’t really say much about them. As far as I know they are fine programs. I have used Yahoo and AOL Instant Messaging with great success.
When using these programs you can adjust to font size, color, and formatting. One cool thing I found out about is the way you can make smileys, (or smiley faces). You can choose pre-made smileys, or make them manually. For example typing :, -, and ) makes the most basic smiley.
After downloading and signing up for a chat client you will have your own username and be able to chat with people. It’s easy to add friends and family to your list of contacts. Clicking on one of you contact’s usernames will bring up a chat window. It will show if that person is currently online or not. You can actually talk to more than one person at a time. People don’t always type out full words when chatting to save time. For instance, someone might write “omg” for “Oh, my gosh!” or “brb” for “Be right back.”
You can also send pictures, videos, or files through IM, (or Instant Messaging). A log of everything said between you and your contact is displayed above the box where you type. You can even save your chat if you want to. If you need to step away from your computer for a while you can put up an Away Message.
Instant Messaging certainly has its’ advantages over e-mail. You don’t have to wait forever for someone to get back to you. You can talk as fast as you can type. I know from personal experience that you can really get into a conversation with someone and not be able to type fast enough. Instant Messaging is one of the best fairly new communication inventions in the world, and usually it is pretty fun.