AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and Yahoo Messenger are coming standard on the do-it-all wireless device known as the Blackberry. Manufacturer Research in Motion announced the addition today, which will result in yet another great distraction for people who are supposed to be using the devices for work.
A Blackberry is a key tool for those people who need to be contacted at all times of the day. Associates at large law firms, for instance, carry them around so they can respond to their bosses’ and clients’ e-mails on a moment’s notice. Apparently, however, they are also used as an employer-subsidized toy. I can see little reason for such messaging programs to be installed beyond such ‘joyride’ use, as I somehow doubt that Goldman Sachs or Skadden Arps gets things done by having “BossMan335Q” messenging ‘u r needed back at the ofc’ to “RandomGrunt22k”. Blackberry users can already access normal Yahoo services (searching, news, etc.) through the device. A notable snub in this package is MSN Messenger, which a great number of people use.
The announcement isn’t really that big a move, according to the Motley Fool:
Given the fact that many Blackberry users were already pinging their friends using instant messaging applications enabled by third-party software, today’s move is not so much an innovation as a logical expansion and an ease-of-use issue. Some might simply muse on what took it so long and move on. (On the other hand, investors might wonder whether competitive gadgets in the smartphone category could take some of the zing out of the Blackberry.)
Nathan Novak at 7:53 pm
Instant messaging is not a “toy”. It’s a communications tool. I use it to talk in real-time to my employees throughout the USA and Europe.
Comment by James — March 14, 2005 @ 8:35 pm
I can see it not being a toy, but I really hate to tell you that over 93 - 98% is just people and kids just chatting back and forth. So you see it’s still a major toy to everyone… so until everyone decides to pick it up.. then it’s always an (EXTRA), also who would want MSN to keep tabs on our business anyhow? It’s just another way of them doing that. I got to admit, that I use it at home to chat with my friends in Austrailla, and England, but that’s about it.
Well hope that lightens things up a bit. 
Comment by Robert — March 14, 2005 @ 9:09 pm
That’s good to hear, but I believe your statement stands for the proposition that instant messaging is not exclusively a toy.
Comment by Nathan J. Novak — March 14, 2005 @ 9:23 pm
Er, sorry to break it to you, but IM is used very extensively at financial firms–especially trading desks.
Comment by Anonymous — March 14, 2005 @ 9:37 pm
The blackberry is a must have for people who bill hourly for a living. They can be out at the park with their dog and bill.
The addition of IM just means that clients can “see” them online all the time.
Comment by Denny — March 14, 2005 @ 9:55 pm
Denny: Absolutely right, helps with that minimum billing increment too sometimes from what I’ve heard; respond to an email, record 15 minutes worth of billables.
Anonymous: I think I ran into your sister on Saturday.
Comment by Nathan J. Novak — March 14, 2005 @ 10:03 pm
Like the site very much, thanx 4 your efforts webmasters
Comment by Anonymous — August 13, 2005 @ 2:54 pm
It’s amazing reading this blog two years later and knowing most mobile phones now have AIM capabilities. Not only that, but many have browsers, email, etc. Really amazing when you think about how fast technology advances.
Nationwide VPN
Comment by vic — March 25, 2007 @ 3:06 am