No Revolution

Thou Shalt I.M.
Instant Messaging Popularity Jumps Says AOL
Read the article via PCWorld on Yahoo! News

• Use of instant messaging in the US is up 19 percent
• Used both at work and home
• Many Americans are now sending more IMs than e-mail

According to the survey:

• Fifty-eight percent of at-work instant messaging users now send IMs to communicate with colleagues
• Forty-nine percent of at-work users rely on IM to get answers and make business decisions
• Twenty-eight percent use IM to interact with clients or customers
• Twelve percent of at-work IM users have used it to avoid a difficult in-person conversation
• Twenty percent say they currently enjoy, or would like to try, making live voice calls to other computers, landlines, and cell phones directly from their IM service
• Another 12 percent say they would be interested in an IM-based voice-over-IP (VoIP) service that could replace their primary household phone line
• In Seattle, 47 percent of at-work IM users are most likely to say things in an instant message that they wouldn't document in an e-mail message
• More than three in four at-work users, 77 percent, said IM has had a positive impact on their work lives
• Also, 25 percent of at-work IMers say that instant messaging enables them to check in on their children during the workday, providing them with greater peace of mind

Among those who use instant messaging for business purposes, 13 percent say they have their IM screen name printed on their business cards, while 6 percent say they write it on the business cards they exchange.