All Together Now

By Lev Grossman

Earlier this month, instant messaging (or IM for short) made headlines when it became the final sticking point in the biggest merger in history, the deal that joined AOL and Time Warner (proud owner of this magazine) in corporate matrimony. The Federal Communications Commission wouldn't approve the union without special conditions regarding AOL's IM policy. Why the fuss? After all, some nonsophisticates argue, IM is just a kid's toy--e-mail for the Dawson's Creek crowd. Isn't it?

Hardly. IM is one of the Internet's true killer apps. It's free, and it's instant (duh), but what the RCC recognized is that IM isn't just about passing notes; it's a powerful communications tool. You can call instant meetings. You can keep tabs on your friends (and enemies) with a "buddy list." You can swap data files, such as MP3s and digital photos. Most IM services can even carry voice communications, and some are available on PDAs and pagers.

This is all assuming the person on the other end is using the same IM program you are--and therein lies the rub. AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo all have IM programs, but most don't talk to one another; if I use AOL Instant Messenger, and you use MSN Messenger, for example, we're out of luck. Imagine if two people using different phone companies couldn't call each other. That's the current state of instant messaging.

Fortunately somebody is working on it. A handful of companies, notably twin goliaths Microsoft and Yahoo, have formed a coalition called IMUnified to attack the problem. Unfortunately AOL, which between ICQ and AIM controls 80% of the market, isn't part of the gang. That's what has the FCC's regulatory knickers in a knot.

So how come AOL won't play with the other kids? AOL's spokespeople claim that AOL is committed to interoperability (as the IM geeks call it). Its AIM software is available free on the Net to any user who wants it, and AOL has readily licensed the technology to competitors. But the company argues that opening up its system could expose users to hackers and spam and other nastiness. IMUnified says that's bunk, that the technical questions are child's play ("My grandmother could implement interoperability"), and that AOL should get with the program.

Who's right? It doesn't look as if we will find out any time soon. Under the FCC's terms, AOL Time Warner has to open up its network to competitors before it can offer any "advanced, IM-based high-speed services" that involve streaming video. Big deal. AOL has indicated that it wasn't planning to offer such a service in the foreseeable future anyway.

Meanwhile, if you want to make sure everybody can reach you via IM, you will have to keep several IM programs running at once; you can also try a program called Odigo www.odigo.com) which connects to AIM, Yahoo and ICQ through a clever bit of hackery, though it's a hassle to use. Or you can do what I do: give up and just use AIM, because my friends use it.

For now, AOL gets to keep the walls that separate its instant-messaging system from the rest of the world. But that's going to have to change eventually, not because of the FCC, but because consumers want it. And because it just makes sense.

You can find out more about IM and the IMUnified coalition at www.imunified.org You can e-mail Lev at [email protected]