I.M. Generation
I've been calling them "The Millennials." This morning's New York Times ("I.M. Generations Is Changing the Way Business Talks," Circuits, pg. 4) refers to them as the "I.M. Generation," noting that these workers, who started IM-ing as teenagers, are now changing the business world.
Increasingly, the article reports, businesses are using I.M. to communicate critical information both inside and outside the workplace. The article describes how some companies use I.M. to provide real time feedback to an entire team. Others use the technology to help ensure that people working from home or in distant locations don't feel geographically isolated.
IM technology has become so popular that some speculate e-mail and voice-mail may go the way of snail mail . . . in a hurry.
Any downsides to I.M.? We've heard lots of complaints from our law firm clients. The two most frequent: Participants in critically important meetings are too often distracted from important business discussion by an incoming I.M. And the content of many I.M.s is often inappropriate.
We used to talk about netiquette. Could "I.M.etiquette" be right around the corner?
comments powered by Disqus
