[Macworld]

Post your comments for TTYL to chatting here

[dougoftheabaci]

I don't know about the others who read this but I practically live on my computer. Since I'm a web designer maybe that isn't that surprising but some of the comments you've made about IMing to me are.

About the loss of the human factor, I'm just going to breeze by video messaging and audio messaging that go along with it these days and skip right to a personal example. The person I've known and been close to for the longest time is a girl in Canada whom I have known for almost a decade. We talk most days online and I know her extremely well, she knows me even better. It's gotten to the point where I wouldn't have to see her face or hear her voice to know exactly how she's feeling. Simple things like the speed of her responses, the length, the frequency all add up to mental cues in my head that say, "She's had a very bad day and it's a lot worse than she's saying." That's happened a few times and I'm never wrong.

Anyway I find IMing very handy. All of last year I worked freelance in Vermont. Anyone in the area knows that the only way to get anywhere in such a rural area is to drive and the company I worked for was about 2 hours drive for me. Luckily they were happy to let me keep in touch over IM. Because of that I only had to come in once a week for a status meeting where the entire studio gathered to discuss all the projects going on. Without it I wouldn't have been able to work. More to the point I go to university in London, UK but I'm from Vermont. That entire year I freelanced I was at home but because of IMing, FaceBook, and e-mails I've kept in touch with most of them (sans those who never keep in touch anyway).

Personally I find it very useful. Plus, can you imagine what my phone bill would be if I had to call all my friends around the world? My friend Shah in Pakistan would cost me a small mint alone!

[Philip Michaels]

I'm interested to see how this experiment works out for Brian -- particularly on the work front. Instant messaging is a valuable tool around our office -- it's a great way to get a fast response to a question without having to drop what you're doing to either make a phone call or walk halfway across the office. There are other advantages as well -- without IM, I'm not sure I could work at home as much as I'm able to now. Anyhow, there are definite business uses to chat that often get overshadowed, and I'm wondering if Brian will maybe come to appreciate those in the next few weeks.

Especially after I get in the habit of bellowing for him from across the office.

[kinless]

I did something very similar in 1999. I gave up the internet for Lent. No AOL, no IMing, no web surfing, no nothing for six weeks. (Luckily at that time I was going to school and didn't need the internet back then. Nor did I have a cell phone at the time for alternate communication.) I have to tell you it's an eye-opener. It makes you get out and do other things, or actually go out and talk to people. Being busy with other activities helped, but man it makes you realize how quickly you get dependent on technology.

You should try that once in your lifetime. It'll make you a stronger person. Trust me...

[cpoff]

If you think I'm actually going to walk down to your desk to talk to you about work stuff, you're crazy Mr. Chen. That's like 20 feet.

IM me when it's over.

-cp

[Rhywun]

Good luck with that. Me, I'll continue using IM in order to get much more contact with friends than I otherwise would. With my best friend (and now ex) currently 12,000 miles away for the foreseeable future, IM is the only viable option.

[Frumius]

Omg, what am I doing reading all these comments?! I should get out and DO something!

[Jon_jon]

I started using the internet in 1997 too. I went on a 'teenage' trip to London (I was 17) where I met two Brazilian girls who introduced me to mIRC and to hotmail. And I have a funny story about miscommunication.
In 1998 I'd frequently visit an IRC channel where all the people who went to this alternative music night club were to be found. So we actually pretty much knew everybody. But there was this girl 'widow' whom I got into a permanent fight and flame war. See, I thought she was someone else. In the beginning she tried to explain to me she was someone else (she even sent a photo) but that only infuriated me more because I thought she was trying to pretend to be someone else.
In 1999 (June 10) I took a flight to Madrid. I called a stewardess because my nose was all stuffy and my ears were killing me. She talks to me and says she'll get some nose drops. I recognised her immediately. She stood there looking at me and waiting for an answer and then eventually she told me 'you recognise me, right?'. I said 'I'm sorry if this sounds weird to you, maybe I'm mistaking you for someone else but are you "widow"'?
We sorted things out and she's now my best girl friend. We even fly together like last year when we spent New Year's Eve on board. :)

[jenndlv]

Dear Best Friend Chen,

I'm writing to say that I got your voicemail on Saturday. Out of routine, I thought, "Oh I'll see him online when I get home." And I forgot about it until this morning because I didn't see you online. Really, would I want to call you at work just to say "Dude, I'm tired"? Will this force you to have full, verbal conversations with people? I know I have phone-phobia. My pulse flutters a little while I'm dialing to talk to a client.

My instant messanger signs on automatically when I get to my desk because it's vital to have instant communication with my coworkers that work remotely, but why not try to keep in touch with those I miss dearly in California? (...ahem). Ah, a fun predicament. Do you treat instant messages as "personal" during company time? Certainly begs the question. An IM conversation can range from personal to business oriented in a matter of 5 minutes. I'm not drawing that line, though. Who will I run to when I need help with comma splices and dangling modifiers?

The point is that I miss you, B. Call ya later.