Yes, I agree that it is annoying to have so many different private messaging networks. As an end-user, it annoys me to have contacts on different networks. If I want to access all services provided by a network, I must use its own messenger, but that requires me to run several messengers at the same time. Alternatively, I could run a client that simultaneously connects to all networks I want, but this will provide only basic functionality on each network because network owners will not disclose the full specifications on the communication protocol. Jabber is an exciting improvement in this direction — the more networks use it, the higher compatibility will be between clients, and more functionality provided to users. Google played smart and not only created an excellent messenger, but also an open network, inviting third party messengers to log on. If you were a programmer and wanted to create an instant messenger or improve one, tell me: would you be willing to put your efforts in guessing Yahoo’s or MSN’s protocol which can change in any moment, making your work useless, or would you choose the advantages of an open source communication?

The major instant messengers have a major problem now. They have a new competitor that can implement all of their advantages through a new messenger. Third party messengers that used to provide limited functionality on private networks now have the opportunity to fully use Google’s messaging network and flourish. Soon enough, people sick of those bloated messengers from MSN, Yahoo and AOL/ICQ will have sufficient alternatives to pick from, with voice chat, graphic emoticons, webcam and all the other features they want, thanks to Google’s messaging network. And you can bet they will switch, sooner or later!

I have many friends on Yahoo Messenger, but I use that program only because so far there are no other messengers to match its features. I need to stay in touch with them as much as they need to stay in touch with me. However, that doesn’t mean that, for the sake of my friends, I must use some garbage messenger and be annoyed with it using 50 megabytes of RAM just for idling, when there’s a better messenger available with the same features. So I will switch to a better messenger the moment it becomes available, and I expect many friends to follow suit. Those who don’t… tough luck, they can e-mail me instead.

It should be obvious that I like minimalistic, functional designs… After all, I tried to make my blog’s appearance that way. Some people can’t imagine chatting without graphical smilies. IRC, one of the oldest chat environments, is text-only as well, and that’s not stopping hundreds of thousands of people from using it daily. Besides, I always said that chatting requires only a simple client, 10 fingers and a brain, not fancy applications with automatic messages, colorful text or animated images. Google Talk fits my needs much better than the other instant messengers I’ve used.