Instant Messaging how it can help

I suppose Instant Messaging makes people feel more connected,and they know immediately the status of their intended recipient whether they are available to reply immediately or currently offline. My own personal experience of using this technology has been for social purposes. Skype has a type of instant messaging service which allows you to still communicate with somebody even though they may not have access to a webcam at that particular moment in time.

In terms of library use this technology has been successfully utilised in training webinars where several people are connected off site and the tutor is alerted to any questions they raise.

I suppose the only downside to instant messaging is that it should not be used for engaging in long conversations. This can result in one individual lagging behind in responses if they have a slow internet connection or are not a fast typist. A consequence of this is the conversation goes completely off the rails.