Posted 07/19/08 at 05:57:57 PM by Justin Kerr

Instant messaging is a great way to stay in touch, but anybody who uses it extensively knows the pain of having friends spread out over different services. Ever install a bulky and bloated IM client for just one friend? Or wished you could instant message all your groupies without running 5 different chat clients in the system tray? Well IM providers and a handful of crafty open source programmers have listened to our cries. Free browser-based alternatives exist for all the major platforms, and all in one desktop clients are finally able to bring the competing services together.

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7

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Software, Google, Yahoo, trillian, pidgin, google talk, aol, MSN, ICQ, meebo, Instant Messaging, AIM, Digsby, Miranda

Posted 07/17/08 at 11:21:38 AM by Paul Lilly

Social networking sites are about to get a lot more chatty. Meebo, the Web-based instant messaging company, said it is taking its IM technology to partner sites this fall. When members sign on to compatible social-media sites, they'll be able to load up their buddy list, while also being able to detach the buddy list window. And when surfing away from one social site to another, users can still chat with their site-specific friends by migrating buddy lists into the Meebo client. It's all part of an effort Meebo is calling Community IM, and so far, sites said to be on board include:

• AddictingGames
• DanceJam
• Flixster
• MyYearbook
• SparkArt
• Sugar
• Tagged

According to ComScore, the above list gives Meebo access to 55 million users worldwide, and co-founder and CEO Seth Sternberg hopes to have even more partners jump on board by the time the service launches. Ad revenue will be shared, and Meebo claims its small, targeted ads receive much stronger "click through" rates than those found on other social networking sites like Facebook.

With a development team of just 40 strong, is Meebo being overly ambitious, or are they another success story in the making?

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windows, Software, IM, Social Networking, community, meebo