Instant messaging changes and aids the way
people communicate. Face-to-face communication wasn’t possible for long
distance communication until the invention of the internet combined with
advanced technology and applications like instant messaging. This opens a new
age for international business and e-commerce because it allows people to interact
face-to-face without physically being at the same location. Cyber market staffs
can serve customers directly and instantly by providing links to specific pages
upon requests and instantly assist as well as answer questions. People, who live
in different countries for many reasons, don’t have to suffer homesickness or
worry about their family because instant messaging makes it possible for them
to see each other with the click of a mouse. Therefore, although instant messaging
makes people less physically interactive and can be a distraction at work, it
is necessary for our society because it provides instant long-distance
face-to-face communication, real time conversation without physical interaction,
and a valuable tool for business.
First of all, instant messaging such
as, Yahoo, Skype, and Google Talk help maintain long-distance relationships. Long
distance relationships were hard to maintain about 10 years ago, but today,
they are much easier to maintain with great communication technology like
instant messaging. In the article, “Making Long-Distance Relationship Work,” Jocelyn
Voo said, “Indeed, modern technology like instant messaging and webcams are
granting long-distance lovers some semblance of immediate and face-to-face
contact.” Instant messaging provides users with amazing webcam quality, file
transfer, texting, and voice control. It makes face-to-face communication possible
with real-time webcam and voice. It is definitely helpful when physical interaction
is impossible for two people with a distance of half the Earth away like me and
my girlfriend. For example, I can see my girlfriend everyday by making a video
call via Skype. I might sing a song or dance with music; she might be cooking
or cleaning while I am doing my homework; I might brush my teeth in the morning
while she is getting ready for bed; we might eat together in front of the webcam and have
fun, or we might even celebrate a birthday together. Instant messaging makes
this all possible for us; it helps us do everything in real-time and
face-to-face even though physical contact is limited.
Long-distance
relationships are more and more common nowadays, and instant messaging is so
important to those who have to live far away from their friends, families, and
loved one. With the increase of foreign workers in many developed countries,
the high demand of high-skilled workers, the increase of international students
who seek higher education, and the drive of work forces in different states
within the US, instant messaging has become one of the best ways for people to
maintain their relationships. There are many examples of these types of
long-distance relationship. Susanne Phillips, a psychologist, described some in
her article, “Love in Long-Distance Relationship,” “here are 48,000 US troops
in Iraq and 94,000 US troops in Afghanistan. That leaves a lot of Home Fires
burning. There are folks like the man I met on a plane who couldn’t retire or
sell his house as planned, so he spends half the week in Phoenix and half with
his wife in Florida. There are those caught in the cycle of visa regulations;
those who need medical treatment far from home; and those who stay in different
places to accommodate children’s school calendars.” Nowadays, life is much
different than it was in the pass that requires people to move around for many
reasons, so online communication become popular and necessary to maintain their
relationships with other people at the different locations. What is the most important
thing on Earth if you don’t know what is going on with your loved one in half
the Earth away? Email takes a long time to reply to with no guarantee of a specific
reply time, and a phone call can’t give the speaker an emotional experience.
Instant messaging with real-time webcam and high quality voice call make it
possible to fulfill the need of those who seek a solution to solve the
long-distance relationship problem. Instant messaging is so powerful that it
shifts the ways we communicate and helps hundreds of millions of users with
their online relationships.
Furthermore, instant messaging has become
a great ways to communicate with other people because it provides a lot of features
for fast communication, such as chatting, web-links, video, images, sounds,
files, and streaming content. It is more than just enough functions for
everyone who seeks a fast and reliable way to communicate. In the article, “How
Instant Messaging Works,” Jeff Tyson and Alison Cooper said instant messaging has become
popular over traditional ways of communication like letter mail, email, and
phone. They also say that email was popular several years ago, but is now being
pulled back because it requires more steps and longer waiting time. The traditional
phone, which can’t transfer data, also has many limitations. It is obvious that
instant messaging is a more efficient way of communicating nowadays for our
busy schedules because everyone does things “on the go.” For example, students
in college can transfer files of works or report with other peers, get instant
replies on the go, and stream content of news and quotes. Moreover, by
providing a chat-room feature, people around the world have the chance to make
worldwide friendships to help them learn more about different cultures and see
life in different places. Instant messaging has taken our daily communication
to a next level that wasn’t possible before. Imagine that you wake up in the
morning and have a cup of coffee while talking face-to-face with your friends on
the other half of the planet where they are having BBQ in the back yard.
Communication has no limit nowadays with all the amazing functions that instant
messaging can provide. It even breaks through the limits of personal communicating
to become the most reliable way for professional communication.
Instant messaging helps serve
customers better for e-commerce websites with real-time and direct service. In
the article, “Is Instant Messaging Good for E-commerce?” Barry Nance said, “But
IM can be a valuable business tool, especially in e-commerce. In fact, for a
Web-based e-commerce environment, IM may be the best and most natural way for a
company to provide direct, real-time service to a site visitor who has a
question, is lost or has special needs. It adds a flexible, comforting human
touch to an otherwise automated process.” The best way for customer service
several decades ago was a phone call, but with the invention of advanced
technology, combined with the habit of customers and self-services, instant
messaging has become one of the most reliable ways of getting immediate
service. Customers don’t have to be put on hold for 30 minutes for a single
question, and it is not awkward when customers don’t have much knowledge about
the subject. This is especially true in banking and investment service. With
instant messaging, customers get a real-time response from the company’s
representative with a link to specific web pages, answers to frequently asked
questions, and step-by-step assistance through the whole process. It’s so much
easier to get in touch with a representative since one representative can
assist many customers at the same time. Furthermore, with advanced instant
messaging, it is not simply sending texts and links, but customers can also
talk with a representative via voice chat. I personally got lost in the process
of registering a DSL service with Verizon myself. I asked so many questions
regarding the different DSL services packages, FIOS service, and so on. The
Verizon representative answered those questions very fast because all they
needed to do was just read my questions, drag the answers from the catalogue,
drop them into the chat-box, and hit enter. They guided me step-by-step with
the links to specific web pages I needed until I finished registering. The
benefit of instant messaging is that it not only serves between the employee
and customers, but also a company’s work communication.
Lastly, instant messaging allows
workers to interact with each other while they are working within the company
area or at a different location. The term collaboration in this new
technological age is not limited by physical collaboration anymore because with
instant messaging people can collaborate everywhere they want to with their
peers. In the article, “Instant Messaging for Business,” Roger Gann said, “IT managers have
recognized IM's potential for rapid communication and ability to create ad hoc
discussions between employees and external partners. But instant messaging
becomes an even more powerful collaborative tool when combined with features
like document sharing, white-boarding, and graphics.” Sharing a document within
a company is very essential for many types of jobs that require group work,
such as, sales person, architect, and businessman. Document sharing and
white-boarding are effective tools for workers to manage and work together
within their own group, manager, and client. For example, Jeff, the studio
editor of TVBS, the television company where I work, uses instant messaging to
communicate with his client for the ongoing commercial program. He and his
client usually send back and forth a commercial clip for editing process before
airing. Lastly, instant messaging can serve as an online conference for workers,
who work in different locations, with audio and webcam. People don’t have to be
face-to-face for a meeting at the same location because with technology,
combined with instant messaging; they can do it at home or anywhere.
In conclusion, instant messaging is the solution for our future
communication that allows people to get instant, real-time face-to-face
communication with not only texting, audio, and webcam, but also file sharing,
picture sharing, and video streaming. Instant messaging provides a great and flexible
way for people to get in touch anywhere on earth; furthermore, it becomes the
most powerful tool for businesses to manage and work within the company, as
well as to serve online customers. Phone and email have yielded their number
one place of communication to the brilliant instant messaging that can do both
of their jobs and even more. Instant messaging for both personal and
professional use is cheap or even free depending on the user’s desire.
Distractions and limitations of physical interaction may seem a problem for
people when they use instant messaging uncontrolled. But, in fact, this is a
minor problem due to the bad behavior of the users that we should be conscious
of how we use it. The potential of instant messaging doesn’t only stop at this
point; it will be more advanced in the future since it works well with most of
the technology devices. Instant messaging will dominate the world of communication
and benefit everyone with great experience in both personal and professional
life.
Works Cited
Gann,
Roger. "Instant Messaging for Business." Techradar. 08 Aug
2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
Phillips,
VSusanne. "Love in Long-Distance Relationship." This Emotional
Life. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
Nance,
Barry . "Is Instant Messaging Good for E-commerce?." CNN.com.
19 may 2000: Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Tyson,
Jeff, and Alison Cooper. "How Instant Messaging Works." HowStuffWorks.
1-6. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Voo, Jocelyn. "Making
Long-Distance Relationship Work." CNN.com. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
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