Getting Started with Instant Messaging and iChat

A friend of mine recently asked how to get instant messaging (IM) set up on her new Mac and it caught me by surprise because it has been so long since I set it up, that I've just taken it for granted as being a preset feature of the Mac. I've forgot that there is a small amount of decision making and setup that precedes using IM. Let's go over how to start out using IM and iChat.

First off, Apple has a pretty good video tutorial about using iChat, so we'll just cover the What's, Where's and Why's.

What is Instant Messaging?
IM is real-time communication with one or more people, usually using the internet for the connection. So in practice, you type a message in a box on your Mac and the recipient or "buddy" has it appear almost immediately on their screen. It originally started out with just text, but now you can also include audio, video and file exchanging. In contrast, email, voicemail and website commenting is a form of delayed communication. Both have their advantages.

Important: You should know there is many IM networks and most IM apps only work on one at a time. I suggest your first step if you haven't started yet is to find out what networks your friends or coworkers are using and sign up for that one. iChat only works on a couple, so make sure to find the right network first. If it turns out that your friends are spread out across a few networks, then you may want to get an app that does them all. I hear much praise for Adium, which is a free IM app that will cover over 10 networks including the big 3: AIM, MSN and Yahoo.

Why use IM?
Most people I know (in their 30's and 40's) use it to ask and answer short questions with coworkers. Questions that may hold you up if you waited for email to be returned. It started out huge with teens back in the day. I imagine there was a whole lot of "what are you doing?" "Nothing. What are you doing?" "Nothing." going on. I think most of that has moved on to text messaging with cell phones these days.

There are 2 other great uses for IM, especially using iChat. The first is video conferencing. While I'm pretty convinced that people generally don't want a video camera on them when speaking on the phone, there are special cases like events. This is more about telepresence. For instance, my family likes to fire up the video chat when opening Christmas gifts from Grandparents far away that can't be with us. I've also read about starting a video chat so someone could see and hear a presentation that they can't be there for. In short, video chatting is a quick solution for "I wish you were here."

The last feature I should mention is that especially with iChat, it's super quick and easy to send a large file to someone on the other end. I use it when my counterpart is available right now on IM and I don't want to take the 2 steps to use Dropbox or 8 steps for FTP. You just drag the file into the text box and hit send. Your counterpart just needs to confirm by clicking a button on their end.

Why iChat?
I like iChat because it's a stock Apple app that gets regular upgrades with OS X and since everyone I know is on AIM, so I don't have any network headaches. I also find that video chatting on iChat is much easier and more bulletproof than other mixed app efforts. iChat to iChat is just effortless.

But I do suggest you first get an account through AIM and then just enter your info into iChat rather than get an Apple account. The reason is that AIM is broader than Apple's systems, so you may be somewhere without you Mac and still be able to use someone else's AIM app. There's even an AIM app for iPhones. Plus I just don't trust Apple's Mac.com and Me.com accounts over time and expect they may change them up again.

Where to Get Started
First, start by getting a free account on the network of your choice. If you chose AIM, MobileMe or Jabber just go to your Applications folder and launch iChat. Enter your account info or start a new one. Then check out Apple's video tutorial to see various ways of using iChat. Don't forget to ask your friends for their AIM names to start your buddy list.

If you are going to be using a different IM network, you'll need to download a Mac app for using that network. See the links in Dig Deeper below for more.

Bonus Round
You can use custom status messages if you want to let others know if you are available or out getting a sandwich. Also, you can add a custom graphic icon for yourself AND your buddies. It's never too late to figure out which Simpsons or South Park character you should be. For me it adds a fun element to the iChat message window.

Do you have any IM questions or tips to share? Let us know in the Comments section below!

DIG DEEPER

Networks
AIM
MSN IM
Yahoo Messanger

Apps
Adium
iChat

iChat Video Tutorial

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