Whether you are at work, in an internet cafe or just on your laptop at home, there are some really useful tools for keeping in contact with that special someone in your life, your work buddies and your family.
1. Pidgin
Pidgin is a multi-protocol Instant Messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once. It supports AIM, ICQ, Jabber/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, QQ, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, MySpaceIM, and Zephyr.
Pidgin to me is the Swiss Army Knife of IM applications, I have my Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo and AIM accounts all tied into it. It allows you to group contacts and protocols together allowing you to merge your friends AIM and MSN protocol into one entity on your contact list. It supports your file transfers, away messages and buddy icons. It’s open source and constantly in development……..Overall it’s a pretty nifty piece of kit.
2. Meebo
Meebo is the Pidgin of the browser IM market. It is free, it supports major protocols and allows you to log in from your favourite browser wherever you are in the world. Handling over 100 million messages a day, it really is the big player in delivering instant messaging to those who can’t install software at their workplace or internet cafe.
3. Facebook
Facebook has become a bit of an internet phenomenon. Recently valued at $15,000,000,000 (that’s billion’s folks!), the social networking site has overtaken Myspace as the weapon of choice to keep in touch with friends. Boasting an impressive amount of features on a user’s profile, Facebook has made it easy to keep abreast of what your friend’s are doing through their profile feeds, making you appear a little bit stalkerish when you approach them about some of the information you gleaned from their profile page!
4. Start a Blog
The number of blogs on the internet is fast approaching 100 million. Some act as online news portals, some exist to showcase a persons talents but most exist as personal web logs (the term blog deriving from this term) that help a close network of online and offline friends updated on their current status (take this site as an example).
A list of some free blogging platforms:
- Wordpress - Either hosted by Wordpress or downloadable to install on your own server, Wordpress is one of the most popular blogging platforms famed for it’s plugins and themes.
- Blogger - Hosted by Google, it’s as easy as owning a Google Account!
- Livejournal - A blog platform with a bit more of a social twist. Ask nabiy for details!
As simple as giving someone your URL, your blog is whatever you want to make it.
Honourable mentions for keeping in touch with friends/family/co-workers are:
- Twitter - A micro-blogging service that allows users to send “updates” (text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) via SMS, instant messaging, the Twitter website or 3rd part applications.
- Myspace - Probably the first real social media site that tempted the masses. Famous for it’s garish user themes and bad design.
- Skype - The VOIP client allows you to hook up your microphone and chat to people across the world using the program. Supporting webcams for video calls, it very cheap…….(ok it’s free). They offer real landline numbers allowing cheaper overseas calls to peoples home phones for a small fee.
- Email?! - Do we still use it? Course we do! I have to side with Google Mail (Gmail) for ease of use, Spam protection and innovative design.
As the social aspect of the internet continues to grow, we will see platforms that will encompass all the services mentioned into one internet based service. All we can do is keep track of the different products on offer and make informed choices as to how they will impact our lives. With more ways to keep in contact with someone, you also have to way up the privacy implications.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
In the past, I think I have used nearly all of the different protocols you mentioned, but I do have to say, my personal opinion of Twitter is very low…
As apposed to a wide viewer base, you are restricted simply to people you already know, unless you want to see what everyone in Japan is doing of course…?
Perhaps it’s just me, but I’d prefer to have a much wider audience for example Blogging, as apposed to a few people I already know?
January 15th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
My opinion of Twitter is also very low, I think that it’s a complete waste of time. I do however know that a lot of “techies” use it to pat each other on their backs and use it as a marketing tool. I still think it was worth listing however.
Blogging isn’t just a personal update, I agree, it does however allow you to give the link to someone and they can get a massive update on your status and life if that is what you choose to blog about.
To me, I do like having different people come to my blog, but I also like the fact my close friends will read it and then talk to me when they see me next.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I really do see your point about close friends reading your blog, I suppose my view is somewhat skewed as my friends are not really this way enclined…
January 17th, 2008 at 3:29 am
> Livejournal - A blog platform with a bit more of a social twist. Ask nabiy for details!
it’s better to look at livejournal as a blogging community rather than a just a platform. they have communities you can join that are really the equivalent of forums.
i also agree about having my friends and family read my blog. it’s really about being able to share whatever is on my mind with the people i care about. i also enjoy sharing with a close set of online friends.
i HATE myspace and the like. they’re like the new geocities of the net. it hurts my eyes to even look at them.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Thanks for commenting nabiy, did you realise that I submitted your “cmd font changing” article to Mixx? Do you have a stats package for your blog?