Meebo and Web Messengers

As I was researching other libraries that IM at libsucess.org, I came across Meebo (www.meebo.com), which " is a web based IM that lets you log into your IM networks from any computer with a browser and internet connection with no firewall issues. It employs technologies like (AJAX) to make it act more like a desktop application, which dramatically improves usability." (from wiki.meebo.com ) It is similar to Trillian, because it allows you to manage multiple IM accounts at the same time.

The real potential for Meebo in IM reference lies in the fact that it allows users who are at computers where they cannot install IM software to use their own accounts. I know that there are web messenger services where users can access their own accounts:Yahoo web messenger, AOL web messenger, MSN web messenger.

The advantage to Meebo is that users can sign in to however many accounts they want, as well as the fact that the website is easier to remember. Despite the obvious coolness of Meebo, it seems pretty new and untested. On top of that I have no idea how many students have multiple IM accounts. Still, it is an option.

I wasn't able to find the library that suggested Meebo to its' students. That was browsing incident I was not able to re-create. In any case, Meebo is an interesting piece of webware that could be useful for our IM program.



An Aside:
As far as using the web messenger services,as well as something like Meebo, the Bracken Health Sciences Library at Queen's University has a fantastic advisory message:

"If you have an instant messaging or email account with one of the systems above, you can quickly send us a message by clicking on the user name or online status indicator (only if you have your instant messaging software open and you are logged in). Otherwise, you can IM us as you would any other person by logging in to your instant messaging software and account and "addressing" an instant message to the appropriate user name above. If you do not have the software installed on the computer you are using right now but you have an IM account, you can use the following online IM services: AIM Express, MSN Web Messenger, or Yahoo Web Messenger."

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