New York Times: I.M. Generation Is Changing the Way Business Talks

As I've been saying, voicemail is dead.  Sun's Tim Bray even says internal e-mail is dead (I don't agree at all -- not in a global company where people are asychronously available...does Tim not sleep?).  

Still, instant messaging is taking over.

Now a generation of office workers who grew up with instant messaging has gained control. They have made I.M. the new black, the latest trend in information technology. Along the way, they have changed how the corporate world converses and have built a series of new communication applications.

Hmm, I thought Yellow was the new black...

The article includes coverage of Lotus Sametime customers such as Intellicare:

"One of our nurses answers the phone when you call your doctor in the middle of the night, and 97 percent of our nurses work from home," said Jeff Forbes, chief information officer. "The nurse can fire off an I.M. to an expert and get a response back without having to interrupt your call."

In conclusion, the Times says it, too:

[C]orporations are building new applications on top of instant messaging, taking advantage of the fact that private I.M. networks are insulated from the outside world. The process is reminiscent of when corporate intranets were first built, in the mid-1990's. These private areas on the Web were created as applications on top of the Web protocols.

All of which means the end could be near for business voice mail, as more and more companies adopt instant messaging.

I'm coming thisclose to changing my IBM voicemail greeting to say "don't bother leaving me a message here, I only check it once a week.  Need me?  E-mail, IM, or call my mobile."

Link: New York Times: I.M. Generation Is Changing the Way Business Talks >

Originally by Ed Brill from Ed Brill on April 5, 2006, 7:18am