Chuck Newton over at his Spare Room Tycoon blog has a great post this morning called Ibo Thinko I Wanto Meebo Me. Chuck is discussing using IM as a way to communicate.
I too have talked about the use of IM in a law firm as another way to stay “Connected.” There are a number of programs one can use for IM’ing and the Mac. The first one of course is Apple’s built in iChat. I use iChat as my primary IM’ing program. It has so many built in features that I am not even going to attempt to mention them all. But, there is one that is awesome. You can use it for a video conference with more than one person. And with the new features coming soon on Mac OS X Leopard, we will be able to do even more as far as collaborating with one another.
Another Mac download I have tried is Adium. It is also free and can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber (Google Talk and iChat), Yahoo, and more.
The only other one that I have tried is Fire. It too will run the same IM services as Adium.
Instant Messaging is just one more way for you to stay connected and to be a “Connected Lawyer.”
I’m very concerned about IM, for daily use by a professional. I used it regularly in high school and undergrad, but I finally got off of it a couple years back.
Do you not find it very disruptive? Are clients generally understanding if you ask them to email you or contact you later? I’m just curious how this works in practice.
Never been an issue. And if I am so busy I don't have time to visit, I just change my status accordinly. Not only do I use IM'ing with clients. I also use SMS (text messaging) via the cell phone with them too. I have a great program on my Treo called YourCall. It gives me the option to do something with a call when it comes in. And if I am busy and can't take the call, I have the option to send them a SMS. So far the clients I have done this with really appreciate the fact they are not being ignored and know right away I am unavilable.
This is what is so great about blogging. Lets keep the conversation going. Anyone that has a comment on this issue, please post them. Unless it is spam, I always approve my comments.
I found a phone on a counter at a liquir store, they have it on camra me picking it up and putting it in my purse. I went outside and ran into a friend told her i found it she said she would take care of it for me, i had to babysit my gson and take care of a few things. the owner contacted me saying either give the phone or 500.00. He told me that they are really mean people, threatening physical violence on me. did i even commit a crime, I didnt steal it i found it. I never used it at all. the owner said i know your name and were you live. did i even do anything wrong,