IM: invaluable new business tool or records management nightmare? Instant messaging's free-form nature is presenting risks and challenges for business and records managers everywhere.

• Author: Cunningham, Patrick J.

?4U. RU retaining IM rcds? If URNOT, there may b FTF mtg w/ TPTB in UR futr IRL.

(Translation: Question for you. Are you retaining instant messaging records? If you are not, there mey be a face-to-face meeting with the powers that be in your future in real life.)

E-mail has entered the mainstream of business as a recognized business tool. Records managers routinely collect e-mail messages and apply proper retention practices. People use e-mail to conduct question-and-answer exchanges in near real-time. But e-mail is a communication medium that is designed for asynchronous written communications. If a paper letter is truly asynchronous, e-mail is its electronic equivalent.

Instant messaging (IM) changes the paradigm. IM is intended to be synchronous written communications, in the same way that telephone calls are synchronous voice communications. In fact, IM extends the functionality and can be synchronous, asynchronous group, and parallel communications. IM allows the user to conduct multiple IM sessions at one time and perform other tasks simultaneously (e.g., attend a meeting, talk on the telephone, compose an e-mail message, or browse a Web site). IM allows users to invite others to be part of the session. Where an e-mail message or a paper letter can constitute a single document, IM allows for continuous, free-flowing, stream-of-consciousness communications involving two or more individuals simultaneously.

While an e-mail message is a transaction, IM is a series of transactions: Its free-form nature makes for very challenging recordkeeping.

What Is Instant Messaging?

IM traces its roots to single-fine, person-to-person communications facilities built into mainframe computer operating systems. These rudimentary IM systems allowed computer operators to communicate in text form without stepping away from their control consoles. The advent of the public Internet and various online services such as America Online (AOL) brought IM into the mainstream. ICQ ("I seek you") software on the Internet was the first mass-market IM software available. As freeware, it spread rapidly.

IM allows a user to designate other IM users as "buddies" or "friends." Generally, IM software users enter their associates' screen names or other identifiers, thereby creating a "buddy list." The software will indicate when the others on the list are active, allowing a connection to be made. To send an instant message, the user clicks on the person's name, then types their message into a window that appears on their screen. The recipient's response is displayed in sequence in the same window, and the exchange will go on for as long as required. Either party may close his or her own window, but further communication from the other party will open a new window. If others begin IM sessions, their sessions will open additional windows, unless those users are invited to participate in an existing session. IM sessions can be established with wired users or with wireless users who have IM-enabled cell phones or pagers.

In addition to ICQ, other programs enable IM communications. Some are interoperable with other networks but many, such as AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger, operate only within their own respective networks. A variety of products are available to corporate users. IBM's Lotus Sametime (which is being re-branded as IBM Lotus Instant Messaging) is interoperable with AOL Instant Messenger. Microsoft provides Exchange 2000 Instant Messaging Service, and Sun Microsystems offers Sun ONE Portal Server: Instant Collaboration Pack. Each product has different key features, but all provide the same core messaging ability with other users on the same network.

From Personal Pastime to Corporate Tool

The article "Instant Messaging Goes Corporate" in the July/August 2003 issue of The Information Management...