If you Instant Message at all, I have a web site you might really like. It is www.meebo.com.

Meebo is an web application that allows you to chat, on a web page, with people from every major IM platform. (The only one it does not support is Skype). Google Talk, okay. AIM, yup. Yahoo, sure can. MSN, you know it. Plus the most popular of the lesser networks.

Meebo is limited in that it does not work for file transfers, voice chat, or for video chat. However, for traditional “chat,” Meebo works great. (They are working on those features.)

Here is why I like it.

  1. Control. You control when you log on. I used to hate MSN in that regardless of how many times I asked it not to, it took advantage of every opportunity it could find to log itself on. I would then find my self having to be polite when I did not have the time.
  2. Site Integration. On several of my web sites (including this one), I have a small widget that allows people to Instant Message with me if online and leave me a short message if not. (I will get the message the next time I log into Meebo.)
  3. There is nothing to install! I don’t have to clog up my hard drive and slow down my CPU to run one or more IM programs.
  4. Because it is web based, I can do it anywhere. Suppose I need to chat with someone in Seattle while in Mexico and am using a computer that is not mine. All I need to do is log into Meebo and I can chat to my heart’s content.

If you are a hard core IM person, Meebo is probably not for you. If you use it, like I do, as another way for people to get a hold of you Meebo is perfect. Check it out.