AIM is a staple of life when you live and work on the internet.  There are quite a few different IM services out there, but AIM is the most widely used.  It’s gotten to the point where a good 90% of the conversations that I have with people in the industry are through AIM.  It’s quicker than picking up the phone, and for the most part it is less intrusive.  If they are in the middle of something they can get back to me when they are available.  It’s also nice to see your buddies login every morning, letting you know that you aren’t alone in what can be a very isolated industry.

That being said, there are some AIM users that tick me off. I made a tweet about this yesterday and it got a lot of responses, so I know I’m not the only one that feels this way.  It was about one of my pet peeves, when somebody comes on AIM and just types, “Hey,” and then says nothing else.

To be fair, I am sure that I have done this before and I am guilty of it too, because you want to see if the person is there before you go into typing a long discussion.  Saying, “Hey,” in itself is not what annoys me, it’s what comes next, which 9 times out of 10 is… Nothing!  They say, “Hey,” and I say it back, and then that’s it.  They never respond or say anything else.  What’s the point of that?  Just to make sure that I am there in case you actually do need to ask me a question?  Annoying.

The other thing.

That’s annoying.

Is when people.

Type fragments.

Of a sentence.

And hit return.

After each one.

So that you get.

16 different beeps.

One for.

Each line.

That they type.

If I’m in a conversation with you, I’m already paying attention.  You don’t need to get every single line out there for me to read before it’s a fully formed and logical sentence.  Take your time, form your sentence, and then hit return when you are ready to say it.  Now that wasn’t so hard was it?

If you are reading this article, then you are probably either nodding your head in agreement with me, or one of the offending parties and you will never AIM me again.  Don’t do that.  I love AIM.  I use it for at least 10 hours every single day.  Just follow some conversational etiquette just like you would if we were talking in person.  Can you imagine coming up to someone in person, saying, “Hey,” then just walking away?  In essence that is what you are doing online when you don’t respond.

That’s the end of my rant for today!