I haven’t used instant messager in five years

aol-man Okay, that’s not true. But I haven’t IM’d more than 5-8 lines of text in the last five years.

Why? I loathe the technology. It’s so obtrusive. Consequently, I only turn on Skype when I need to make a call. And I haven’t logged in to Google Chat since 2006.

No, asynchronous email is a better respecter of your schedule when it comes to TCB (taking care of business). And meetings and phone calls are my go-to source for real-time communication.

What about you: do you still use instant messenger? If so, why?

—May 16, 2011

2 Comments

Sara

May 16, 2011 at 11:11 am

I do use IM, but only on rare occasions. I actually used it more at work than I do now — for some reason, that’s how my team liked to communicate . . . Personally, though, I’d rather chat on the phone. Something about always being available bothers me. I like to have some time when people can’t get in touch with me — like when I’m reading online or checking e-mail or doing homework on my computer. I don’t want to be interrupted so often by people on IM.

Still, I’ll use Gchat sometimes, but again, it’s pretty rare.

David

May 16, 2011 at 5:16 pm

I’ll turn it on when I’m bored on a weekend, and that’s happened once in the last 6 months. Otherwise, nope.

Blake Snow

writer-for-hire, content guy, bestselling author

I haven’t used instant messager in five years

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