Email vs Instant Message

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
There is an IM that I need to keep on for work, but I'm going to try keeping my Trillian turned off ( skype / yahoo / AIM ) and see how it goes having IM flavored conversations turned back into email conversations. I'm already noticing that anything I'd tend to send over IM gets written up better as an email, and it also does not cause in interrupt for the recipient. Some people might file this under the same terms as email vs. text message.
 

peviha

Valued Member
I agree that most instant messages are better communicated via email where you are often "forced" to string more than two or three words together in order to get your message across. Really the best instant messenger is the phone. Use that instead when the message you want to convey is so simple that writing it down is overkill.

-peviha
 

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
Turning off my IM didn't work. I don't need most of the IM's but too many people I talk with use skype. It's useful for group chats such as doing real time troubleshooting.
 

peviha

Valued Member
It's a thin line. IM is great for group chats and troubleshooting, while I think email is more appropriate for longer, coherent paragraphs of text. Just like telephone calls are great in their own right, but are no replacement for physical letters.
 

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
Yes, actually the problem I think twice about is firing off an IM when a thought really should be a properly formatted and grammatically correct email. I'm also more aware now than IM is an interrupt while an email is something the recipient checks on their schedule. Looks like I had that sentiment in my first post too. At least one of my goals of not interrupting people has survived a few months :)
 

Big Dan

EQ Forum Moderator
Currently, I'm doing the opposite of what you're doing. Instant messaging was turned off for the longest time but am now using it more and more. I view IM as more of a distraction than anything. I'd rather fire off an email for most stuff but instant messaging is instantaneous. I suppose that's my problem with it people expect you to drop everything and reply Right Now

Facebook Messaging is the worst. Facebook is like a universal platform. There's no more "Do you have ICQ, AIM, YIM, etc?" - It's "I'll catch you on Facebook." I have a few clients on Facebook a couple of which are to lazy to launch Skype so I can sign out of FB. The problem is two fold. a) Clients randomly pop up asking questions like I'm supposed to drop everything and figure it out even at noon on a Sunday. b) Friends pop up and say Hi while I'm trying to work. - It's not that I don't want to talk to these people it's that I'm busy. How many times can you say I'm busy before people feel like you're giving the cold shoulder.

I'm going to have to start grouping people and turning off chat availability to friends vs. business.
 

peviha

Valued Member
One thing I like about email over IM apart from the obvious fact that email is nowhere as distracting as IM (and I'm easily distracted) is that replying to an email gives me time to THINK before I reply. I dislike the implied urgency in replying that is associated with IM.

-peviha
 

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
I leave the FB messaging off so it's always a message never the live chat.

I'm pretty good about Facebook having mostly friends/family.

I prefer using email for clients, it's better for tracking than a long stream of IM history.

If an IM comes in from a client there's nothing wrong with saying you're busy and letting them know the ETA for when you'll get started on what they need.
 
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