Word: instanteous
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...offers companies real-time communication at low cost. An instant message sent to a co-worker halfway around the world costs far less than an international phone call, and compared with e-mail, IM is less expensive to maintain. Getting an IM is in some ways less intrusive than dropping everything to answer a phone call. And those who telecommute or travel frequently find that IM often helps them feel better connected with their offices...
Where IM generates complaints is not in e-commerce but in ordinary offices. Some workers and managers find it hard to research and write reports and do other tasks when instant messages are constantly popping up on their computer screen. And the temptation to chat with friends during work hours can also sap productivity. At some workplaces, important decisions are made on the fly via IM, so employees who fear being left out stay glued to their screens, often neglecting other work such as visits to customers. Some managers even use IM to convene impromptu conferences outside of normal office...
...further productivity gains to immediate communication that haven't already been realized by e-mail," he says. At the same time, he adds, IM provides an even greater temptation than e-mail does to "set aside real work" and engage in office gossip or chitchat with friends. Instant messaging, he says, offers "a vast potential for time waste...
Business professionals who have to juggle e-mail, cell phones, landlines, pagers, faxes and now instant messaging are in danger of becoming "multitasking junkies," says Tom Austin, a vice president at Gartner, a technology consultancy based in Stamford, Conn. He believes IM social chatting is less of a threat to productivity than is the splintering of focus that the technology encourages. While bouncing from one conversation to another, Austin says, distracted workers are more likely to miss key points and make mistakes. He likens the risk to eating and talking on a cell phone while driving. "It can create...
Most analysts studying IM in the workplace predict that it will rapidly evolve into a mature medium like phone and e-mail, posing no special threat to worker attention. Today's concerns about instant messaging, experts say, are not unlike those that were voiced about e-mail when it was introduced in offices...