Windows 8 Bible

Understanding Chat and IM

Online chat, also called instant messaging (IM for short), is a very simple concept. You open a chat program, choose a person you want to communicate with, and then type a text message. That message goes across the Internet to a chat server and from there to the other person’s computer, where it appears on his screen in his chat program. Then, he types a response and sends it back to you to respond to if you choose. A chat conversation could comprise a few messages or it could go on for hours, the same as any conversation.

Note

The terms chat and IM are used synonymously in this chapter.

Why IM? Not everyone sees its usefulness. Not everyone types fast and you can spend time waiting on a response, which can be frustrating. In addition, many users find that when they are in a chat they ignore other tasks. You might be the kind of person who finds it easier to pick up the phone to resolve a work issue. However, online chat can be great for people who already spend a lot of time in phone conferences. If you spend several hours a day on the phone, you might not get much other work done.

Throw e-mail and chat into the mix, however, and you can get a lot done. So, when you’re on a call, you can also be writing and receiving e-mail, chatting online with others, and, occasionally, talking on yet another phone call. In fact, quite often today people are chatting with other people who are on the same conference call while someone else is speaking. This behind-the-scenes ...