dw_biz: Instant messenger/realtime communication services

Denise (

denise) wrote in

dw_biz,
@ 2010-06-14 04:40 am UTC

Instant messenger/realtime communication services

Please indulge my research and factfinding for a few moments! This is a poll to determine which instant messager/realtime communication services our users use, and which single one you use most often, in order to figure out which services it might make sense to concentrate on integration with. (This is not to say that it's something we're definitely going to be doing! Just that, for instance, it wouldn't make any sense to work on sending notifications to/accepting entries from a service that few of our users are using.)

I'm sure I've forgotten some common IM services in the poll, so I left in an 'other'. (I deliberately left out irc, since that's not so much a one-to-one realtime communication service.)

Poll #3455

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 626

View Respondents

Which instant messager/realtime communication services do you use regularly?

View Answers

AIM
364 (58.9%)

Google Talk
380 (61.5%)

ICQ
46 (7.4%)

Jabber (other than Google Talk/LJ Talk)
50 (8.1%)

LJ Talk
69 (11.2%)

Skype
178 (28.8%)

Windows Live/MSN Messenger
189 (30.6%)

Yahoo
186 (30.1%)

Other (enter below)
102 (16.5%)

If 'other', which ones?

View Answers

Which instant messager/realtime communication service do you use most often?

View Answers

AIM
165 (27.0%)

Google Talk
217 (35.5%)

ICQ
10 (1.6%)

Jabber (other than Google Talk/LJ Talk)
16 (2.6%)

LJ Talk
8 (1.3%)

Skype
32 (5.2%)

Windows Live/MSN Messenger
58 (9.5%)

Yahoo
50 (8.2%)

Other (enter below)
56 (9.2%)

If "other", which one?

View Answers

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	no subject dancing_serpent 2010-06-14 08:59 am UTC (link)
	"Most often" in my case means "about a handful of times a year". (Reply to this) (Thread) (Expand) (Hide 7 comments) (Show 7 comments)

	no subject sraun 2010-06-14 02:38 pm UTC (link)
	Same here! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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athenejen, 2010-06-15 07:47 pm UTC (Expand)

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explorer0713, 2010-06-16 05:20 am UTC (Expand)

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dancing_serpent, 2010-06-16 06:29 am UTC (Expand)

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winterwitch, 2010-06-21 08:14 am UTC (Expand)

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keieeeye, 2010-06-23 12:22 am UTC (Expand)

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archangelbeth, 2010-06-28 11:10 pm UTC (Expand)

	no subject renne 2010-06-14 09:14 am UTC (link)
	I've only just started even using an IM service (AIM), because of a new fandom, otherwise I wouldn't use anything at all (but if I did it used to be MSN). (Reply to this)

	no subject christycorr 2010-06-14 09:16 am UTC (link)
	"Most often" is complicated for me to say, because I use a multi-protocol IM client. But anyway, yay for potentially upcoming features! (Reply to this) (Thread) (Expand) (Hide 28 comments) (Show 28 comments)

	no subject andrewducker 2010-06-14 09:25 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, I use Pidgin, so I often can't tell whether I'm on MSN or GTalk (or even Facebook chat) My preferred method is definitely Jabber-based, but that's probably my open protocol favouritism. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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finch, 2010-06-14 10:21 am UTC (Expand)

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ten, 2010-06-16 06:21 am UTC (Expand)

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denise, 2010-06-16 06:30 am UTC (Expand)

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ten, 2010-06-16 09:53 am UTC (Expand)

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sophie
2010-06-14 11:59 am UTC (link)

I'm always on my jabber.org Jabber account, as well as a Jabber account on my own domain, but they're not often used because I don't have many friends who use them, so I didn't tick Jabber despite being on it all the time. (well, I did, but I'm going to go untick it again.)

Also, bear in mind that AIM and ICQ are now the same service; you use the exact same login procedure for both nowadays, so if you support one, you support the other automatically and can send messages to both types of user regardless of the connection. (And if you program your own code for it, bear in mind that AIM does support email addresses as screen names now, so don't reject names that look like that :D)

Last edited 2010-06-14 12:01 pm UTC

(Reply to this)

	no subject norabombay 2010-06-14 01:20 pm UTC (link)
	I am hooked into Pidgin, and use it to run: 2 AIM accounts- my norabombay one, and the one from my real name I've had since oh, 1998. 2 Google Talk Accounts- Nora Bombay, and my real name LJ talk Plus IRC. (Reply to this)

no subject

florahart
2010-06-14 01:34 pm UTC (link)

Oh. I suppose I *have* also used a linux multi-platform thingy and Trillian; I hate both of them.

In case relevant somehow: Yahoo has a single feature that (to my immense irritation) no other client has and which I value: the ability to be selectively visible. That is, all (?) of them allow invisibility, but Yahoo allows being visible to individuals or groups while remaining invisible in general, which if nothing else cuts way down on the number of ridiculous spam, but which also means that, for instance, I can be visible to a fannish group and set my status to "tentacle porn" and by so doing remain invisible to (but pingable by) my kids or my sister.

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	no subject marcmagus 2010-06-14 02:03 pm UTC (link)
	ICQ used to have that feature. I suspect it went away when AOL took it over, although I'd started using a multi-IM client that didn't support the feature by then anyway. I really miss it and wish it would come back for all the IMs. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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ursamajor, 2010-06-16 02:49 am UTC (Expand)

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dhamphir, 2010-06-16 05:05 am UTC (Expand)

	no subject delight 2010-06-14 01:40 pm UTC (link)
	I don't really use any IM services regularly, but if someone asks me to be on one it's always Yahoo. Skype even more rarely, but I used to use Skype almost every day when I was in an LDR. (Reply to this)

	no subject kake 2010-06-14 01:44 pm UTC (link)
	I use Google Talk to communicate with three specific people, and have no plans to use it for anything else. I would much prefer not to have to use it at all. (Reply to this)

	no subject the_shoshanna 2010-06-14 01:51 pm UTC (link)
	I answered "use regularly" as though it meant "log in to"; since I use a multiprotocol client, I log into all of them at once, and don't particularly care which one someone contacts me through. (Reply to this)

	no subject the_shoshanna 2010-06-14 01:51 pm UTC (link)
	I answered "use regularly" as though it meant "log in to"; since I use a multiprotocol client, I log into all of them at once, and don't particularly care which one someone contacts me through. (Reply to this)

no subject

melannen
2010-06-14 02:36 pm UTC (link)

I use Skype for a regularly scheduled weekly conference call that's mostly voice but we use the IM feature for things like swapping links and such during the call.

Beyond that... I log in to Pidgin once or twice a year, but I don't even remember what accounts I have registered with it, and am really incredibly awkward on IM.

ETA: Oh, and if people are counting IRC, I do wind up on one IRC channel or another every few months, but I wouldn't call it 'regularly'.

Last edited 2010-06-14 02:38 pm UTC

(Reply to this)

	no subject zvi 2010-06-14 02:49 pm UTC (link)
	None of this is regularly, regularly. It's just that, at an end of a ficathon, I log into my gmail, and poke Fox1013 to look at things for me through googletalk. Oh, you know, I wrote IRC, but I think more often than IRC, I am now on WAVE, which can be realtime. I will go add that in. (Reply to this)

I suspect I'm an extreme outlier and thus not useful data ...

dglenn
2010-06-14 03:49 pm UTC (link)

... but wow, none of those have ever appealed to me, and though I don't use realtime messaging often any more, I used to be on IRC constantly and still try to use it when a situation calling for real-time computer-mediated-communication comes up (usually to be stymied by the other person's inability to use it -- *sigh* -- half my friends have forgotten it still exists, and the other half have no idea what it is.)

(Reply to this)

	no subject existence 2010-06-14 05:10 pm UTC (link)
	I log into GTalk and AIM via Adium every day, Skype as needed for talking over things with friends, and IRC nearly every day via Colloquy for fanish stuff. (Reply to this)

	no subject triadruid 2010-06-14 05:25 pm UTC (link)
	I login to Pidgin/Trillian/etc about once a fortnight, actually talk to someone about three times a month (usually in quick succession). GTalk and Facebook Chat get more airtime because they're autoloaded by other programs. Still not more than twice a week. (Reply to this)

no subject

ilyat
2010-06-14 05:45 pm UTC (link)

It depends on who I am communicating with, honestly.

AIM - Local friends, internet friends associated with one game I´ve played for 10+ years
IRC - Other staff & planning for MAGFest
Skype - International friends (in conjunction with a phone service)
Google chat - A handful of internet friends, text communication with friends who have Google chat on their phone to avoid maxing out text message plan limits

(Reply to this)

	no subject sally_maria 2010-06-14 07:51 pm UTC (link)
	I use Pidgin, but mostly to talk to friends who use Google Chat. There's just one hold out who insists on using MSN. (Reply to this)

	no subject aedifica 2010-06-14 07:53 pm UTC (link)
	I haven't IM'd in years, though I used to regularly. But back when, I used AIM and Yahoo on Trillian. (I didn't answer the poll because of not being a current user of any IM service.) (Reply to this)

	no subject aveleh 2010-06-14 07:53 pm UTC (link)
	I technically use AIM/LJTalk the most, but I voted for GTalk just because. I'd be happiest if we had some sort of jabber service, but I'd also be happy with AIM. (My multi-protocol client is currently not happy with MSN and Yahoo, so neither am I.) (Reply to this)

	no subject elena 2010-06-14 08:28 pm UTC (link)
	I only use the branded Messenger/ Communicator we've got at our workplace and only for work reasons. I get very stressed by having to attend to other people's conversations in real time while I'm browsing the web, so I don't like chat systems very much. (Reply to this)

	no subject arethinn 2010-06-14 09:06 pm UTC (link)
	Wow, I had no idea Google Talk would lead the pack. I wonder if it's a sort of selection bias, that people who use DW are more likely than average to use Talk. (I'm weird, I only use MSN and only to talk to one person.) (Reply to this)

	no subject sky 2010-06-14 10:32 pm UTC (link)
	I'm really surprised to see such popularity of Google Talk! I don't know a single person who uses it, although I like it. As for me, if I'm at a computer, my Trillian Astra is logged in, lol. I probably IM more than anything else I do online. Technically I have all sorts of accounts, but the only ones that get any actual use are my Astra and AIM ones. (Reply to this)

	no subject piscinarii 2010-06-14 11:34 pm UTC (link)
	I only use Google talk, so that was my answer for both what I used and what I used most often. I also mostly only talk to one person (my husband) on it. I use Facebook chat when I'm on Facebook and people message me... I'm sure that falls under one of the categories above, but I'm not sure which. I use it less than Google Talk though. (Reply to this)

no subject

tiferet
2010-06-15 12:19 am UTC (link)

I use trillian and log into everything I can, although AIM is blocked at work.

Also, I agree with the poster who said the best thing about YM is that you can be visible to only specific people at a time.

I have never used LJ Talk--I opted out of it. Because I RP in journals, I can't continue conversations if I'm switching journal logins a lot. Also, I never really wanted an IM name that was permanently tied to any of my journal names, because when I'm using messengers a lot, I change messenger names fairly often, on account of using different ones for different RPs and also just plain not wanting to be permanently available for interruption to large numbers of people (like my entire friends/access list). Typically I'll have one IM name on a service that almost everyone knows and I almost never sign into. This is the one I will give out to people who ask me to tell them whether they should have mac and cheese or chicken nuggets for lunch when I'm trying to work, and my relatives. The one I'm on all the time will be known only to my 3-4 closest friends.

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no subject

sophie
2010-06-16 12:32 am UTC (link)

You may not be aware of this, but "LJ Talk" is different from "LJ Messenger". The latter is the MSN-based service like Facebook's chat service that I think you're referring to. LJ Talk itself is a Jabber-based service that you can use in IM programs that support it, and don't require you to be logged in to any particular journal on the website.

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jld
2010-06-15 05:26 am UTC (link)

I think that, in terms of my actual usage volume of IM-like communication media over the last while, IRC /msg is #1, and second place might actually be SMS rather than an Internet protocol — but that's more reflective of who I happened to be corresponding with than my own preferences.

One thing about LJ's XMPP service, from back when Brad put together djabberd, is that I didn't really like the idea of having my entire LJ flist automatically turned into my IM “buddy list”. I might have used it more (i.e., at all beyond a little initial poking at it) if not for that. And I think that's the one that was called “LJ Talk”? There was also some half-baked-sounding MS thing a couple years ago that I entirely ignored, I think, and I might have gotten the marketing names mixed up.

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	no subject ursamajor 2010-06-16 02:53 am UTC (link)
	I didn't really like the idea of having my entire LJ flist automatically turned into my IM “buddy list”. Yeah, and a fair number of people agreed with you back then, IIRC. Especially when you couldn't actually remove people from your LJ chat-buddy-list without defriending them; that's a wrongful assumption. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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