iWire notes in reviewing a study of instant messaging in the workplace that the main use of IM was ‘complex work discussions’. There are some methodological difficulties with the study (the software studied was new and about half of users worked at AT & T). But leaving that aside I can’t help thinking that if true this heavy use of IM for work is Not A Good Thing.
If work-related electronically-mediated conversation moves from email to IM, an important “record trail” may be lost. Email can be filed into folders by subject, keyword searched etc. IM in most systems simply disappears once it is typed unless one or the other party saves the transcript.
If businesses do implement IM, it may therefore be important to include some kind of automatic logging function as well as monitoring it for legal reasons if needed.
P.S. The Hubbub IM software that was tested in the study has some interesting new features using sound and giving more information on what other users are doing. Nice to see some new ideas!fast cash loan payday site advanceadvance simple payday personal loan cashquick cash advance credit loan paydayloan cash personal personal advancebusiness programs q affiliate loansagriculture real estate loanalabama loan debt consolidation mortgagesecond loan mortgage alabamagovernment loans debt consolidation alaskaonline personal alaska loan fastaccount card credit merchant texas bestfederal actors union com creditcard account account credit merchant californiaboards accreditationcertificate accredited online coursescourses accounting online accreditedinterest 15 cards no credit moford michigan long credit al Map
Is it true that “IM in most systems simply disappears once it is typed unless one or the other party saves the transcript”?
In MSN and Trillian, the two systems used by iSociety personnel, the chat is automatically saved (usually as ‘message history’ or similar). We’ve found this extremely useful in capturing and reviewing work discussions had over IM.
That said, I’m unsure exactly how much of the conversation is saved. I have a sneaking suspicion that conversations are deleted after a certain date. And to render the chat usable, it’s usually best to paste it into word or a similar application …
Comment by max — 20 January 2003 @ 5:37 pm
You’re right – I had forgotten that some IM clients (ICQ among them) do automatically save message histories. But like you I suspect there is a limit to the amount that gets saved, and my main point is that the way it gets saved – as a kind of “loo roll” of continuous text – makes it hard to sort into subject areas or retrieve for later use.
(One could also argue that the medium itself because it is real time not thought through produces less “coherent” dialogue and is therefore harder to analyse and digest later).
Comment by David Brake — 20 January 2003 @ 6:54 pm