The Impact of IM.

• Position: Instant messaging - Brief Article

Twelve billion text messages are sent worldwide each month to PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones, and another 3 billion text messages are sent over airwaves, according to recent data. As these numbers grow, messaging is emerging as the "killer" wireless application, reports the Gartner Group, a leading technology services firm. Standard messaging is being transformed into instant messaging (IM), a much more collaborative, friendly mechanism, complete with "buddy lists" that indicate which contacts are online simultaneously.

Indeed, according to Gartner analysts, IM is changing corporate cultures with "under-the-table" meetings. Executives, managers and students who lament wasted time in meetings (and classes) are multitasking with IM. While traditional management protocol suggests IM should be banned in meetings, Gartner analysts say people using these small, silent...