I HATE not having IM at work.
Natter 65: Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
What are the benefits of IM over email?
It's usually much faster. for quick questions.
also snide comments.
and lunch plans
We just use the subject line for that. Since it pops up on the screen when it's sent I guess it serves the same purpose. I guess I hate to think people that people would expect an even quicker response, when 99 times out of 100 stopping immediately to address things is remarkably inefficient.
Plus, I think because IM is more casual, and there's generally no record kept, it's better for asking stuff like "what's X's phone number" I hate sending email for that crap. But email is better for creating a record and covering your ass.
My brother uses IM at work a lot but he almost always has his status set to red (away, I guess), but he puts a message in there like "working on a project; email requests" so it looks like he's still present. I mean, I think he usually is there working on stuff. He just hates to be bothered when he's in the middle of stuff.
Our email does not pop up on screen, so lots of email get ignored.
IM's a good place to have fast conversations, and to nail someone down to answering you right away. Except the person I most need to talk to this morning has her "do not disturb" blinds up. Figures.
It's the same sort of "stopping immediately to address things" as the phone, except I get to keep a text record of it on my computer, and it's free.
Which has just reminded me, I just thought of another person who's ignored my most recent emails and I should try and IM stalk before calling.
And doesn't clog up your inbox.