IM Open to the World

How quickly things get outdated in an Web 2.0 world. I just posted an hour-and-a-half ago and that's already old information:

We have a Meebo widget on our website now and are open for business via IM. It will need some publicizing to let people know it's there, but we're game if queries start coming in.

IM on the Job

I first started instant messaging when I was working at home on a regular basis and my department head wanted to be able to keep in touch with me. He likes Trillian and introduced me to using that program. The project that let me work at home is long finished, but I often have Trillian open during the day at my desk. My department head and I still IM each other at times, and I've also used it to contact various Winnefox staff members with quick questions.

The plans are to start using IM for reference service. We're looking into using Meebo, but are still working out the logistics. It will be one more service provided by our electronic branch.