Today’s SparkMinute is for those of you obsessed with instant messaging, also known as IM.
Yahoo! and MSN have agreed to eventually integrate their instant messaging platforms. But you don’t have to wait. Install Trillian, a single IM application that lets you communicate with AOL, MSN, Yahoo, and ICQ instant messaging programs.
If you’re on someone else’s computer, but you still want to IM, Meebo offers a Web-based meta-IM version similar to Trillian.
Want to make new friends? Similarly named Meetro, a Palo Alto-based company, is a location-aware social messenger. It integrates the aforementioned IM programs with the insanely popular social network MySpace. Log on to see who’s available to chat right now in your area.
And if you’re not already on Skype, the free voice chat program, get on it. Call another Skype user anywhere in the world for free, or call any phone for just pennies a minute. And I know you’re not going to believe me when I say it, but the sound quality is often better than your landline phone.
Try them all out and let me know what you think.
