Another thought or two on instant messaging

... and maybe text messaging. Although they might not be synonymous.

So I had a few problems getting the widget to work. That lengthy list of comments on the week one page should have given me a clue. Anyway, I IM'd Stef about it. She IM'd back. Did you ever play IM tag? That can get annoying. Text/instant messaging may work better if you're using a cell-phone or Blackberry or some other personal device. A computer (desk-top for sure, laptop, maybe not as big a problem) doesn't have the portability. It does have the full-size keyboard though. So I think we're definitely losing some of the benefits of text/instant messaging when we're using desktops. One example that I read on a blog (can't remember where, don't know if I bookmarked it, don't want to check) was a library catalog that allowed patrons to text massage call numbers from their catalogs. No more scraps of paper and golf pencils. Neat! Right? But are scraps of paper and pencils really such a burden? A waste of resources maybe. But that can also be true of cell phones.

I really wonder if it's a generational thing. I watched the PBS special about wired kids called Growing up online (the entire broadcast is available online here with additional materials how cool is that!) and after hearing the follow-up story about one high-school student who joined the Coast Guard and had to give up most of his tech-communication tools during his first few weeks at the Coast Guard Academy. He seemed pretty relaxed about it, too. Like he was not really giving up all that much. And he sort of implied that he probably wouldn't be going back to it. At least not as heavily.

So I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, text/instant messaging isn't necessarily the essential form of communication for younger people. Maybe they just have more time to use it (they're not working fulltime or raising families), they don't have their own space (not everyone has their own computer in their bedroom, they're spending a lot of time in situations (classrooms) where talking on a cellphone is not an option, and the type of communication they're engaging in are not so serious that their lives will be seriously impacted if they miss (or misread) a text.

Sure, it's important to teens now. But life beyond high school will have different challenges. I think that text-messaging still needs to take a back-seat to other forms of communication. I did a little text-messaging today with a friend who was reading my blog (on work time) and wanted to chat a little bit (also on work time). And that was pretty fun. But we had to stop when someone walked into her office. So, we got to pretend we were young and carefree (alright, relatively speaking) and getting away with something in a situation where it really wasn't that big of a deal. It was quick and easy and bothered no one else. And, for me at least, that may be the only appeal of text/instant messaging.

Now if we can find a way to incorporate it into our workflow that actually improves our product output or provides greater efficiency, then I'll be ready to take another look at it. (I do like the idea of someone having the option of texting for help from the library catalog terminals.) But right now, I don't think IM and texting adds enough value to make it much more than an interesting distraction.

Not that distractions are bad. Depending on the distractions, of course. Your mileage may vary.

Your comments are welcome.