An article in the New York Times titled “I.M. Generation Is Changing the Way Business Talks” (free registration required) talks about the growing importance of I.M. in business communication and information sharing. Both Sun Microsystems and I.B.M. used I.M. for most their internal communications rather than emails or voice mails. On any work day, 2.5 million I.M. messages are exchanged within I.B.M.
“Banks, insurance companies and other old-school businesses are using instant messaging to communicate with customers and quickly route queries, all within seconds”. And so are many libraries (academic and public) around the world, particularly in the US, where I.M. is used to provide reference services. In Singapore, I know of a couple of libraries of tertiary institutions where I.M. is an additional channel for the students to ask questions.
Why I fell so strongly about I.M. is because it allows for the librarians to be able to resource share. If a reader comes to the counter to enquire about a particular subject/topic, we would be able to I.M. someone who is well-versed in the topic. This would work for the ASK! Service Point as well when we get phone calls. I.M. would also allow everyone to see who’s available or away from their PCs.
There are some disadvantages to I.M. in my opinion. The always-on status could be a deterrent for some people to turn on I.M. when they get into the office. Another would be the instant answers that people expect when using I.M. But I view these as minor issues that can be easily resolved through training and managing expectations.
Looking forward to making use of I.M., blogs, podcasts, and vidcasts to provide our enquiry service.
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