Facebook Chat The Social Networking Internet Messenger

By Daniel Offer – Daniel Offer investigates the rise of Facebook Chat and Facebook Messengers and what it could mean for Facebook’s future
For the past decade three instant messengers have dominated the instant messaging landscape – MSN Messenger (now, Windows Live Messenger), AIM and Yahoo Messenger.

But things are changing; this decade has seen the rise and rise of Google, and of course Social Networks, most notably Facebook.
A couple of years ago, to the outside you would have thought that these three instant messengers would continue to be the favored instant messaging solutions for the foreseeable future. After all, they have an established user base and their software is considered reliable. There attributes you would have thought would be good enough to defend an attack from a new market entrant into the instant messaging market. Their only concern would be each other.

Whilst Google Talk (Google’s Instant Messenger) has had little impact on the instant messaging landscape, Facebook Chat has.
Microsoft purchased 1.6% of Facebook for $240 million in October 2007. Since then Facebook have released innovation after innovation with its new found cash. For example, it’s classified ads, applications and Facebook Chat. Perhaps, Microsoft has shot themselves in the foot; so to speak at least in the instant messaging market by investing (at above its market price, at least in my opinion) in a competitor.

Facebook Chat doesn’t really offer anything that the instant messaging community hasn’t seen before. It’s a very basic in browser instant messaging service. Indeed, there are much better examples of in browser instant messaging. Despite this, Facebook Instant Messaging is becoming increasingly popular – not because it’s rich with feature, but, because Facebook is where everyone’s friends are. Simply put, people have more friends on Facebook than they do on their instant messenger of old.
For those of you that don’t like using your web-browser to chat on Facebook there are excellent Facebook Messengers like Chit Chat for Facebook that allow you to use Facebook Chat from your desktop without your web-browser like you would Windows Live Messenger, Aim or Yahoo Messenger.

Chit Chat for Facebook Instant Message Window
Facebook’s power in new markets is its user base, accurate user data and user submitted content. If Facebook started to look outside its closed wall environment, like these third party Facebook Messengers are providing for it then Facebook could have significant influence in the Internet Marketing.
Now that Facebook has shaken up Instant Messaging, could Facebook shake up internet marketing? Users trust Facebook and give accurate information, Facebook also knows what people like and want. With this behavior information Facebook’s influence could dramatically increase if they got more involved in behavioral internet marketing.