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Google Talk And AIM To Work Together

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Technology

Looks like the pending Google/AOL merger is already providing some very fruitful results.

The new IM partnership takes on significance because of who AOL did not partner with, namely Yahoo Inc. or Microsoft’s MSN, the two other top IM makers.

The apparent underlying message is that the three sides still don’t yet see eye-to-eye on the complex business and technological arrangements necessary for integration.

[...]

In essence, the two IM networks will not be connected. Rather, Google’s Google Talk users must first sign up for an AIM account and screen name. They can then carry on a conversation with an AIM user by using their Google IM desktop dashboard.

This is interesting for a variety of reasons.

First, Google got into the game late on instant messaging with their new application, but this deal would essentially level the playing field for them in the world of IM. This is significant because the world is going to go more and more towards instant messaging as a form of communication. It’s free, it’s immediate gratification and it Generation Y (and M) use the hell out of it.

Second, this could lead to other applications that Google could take advantage of. The first is a free infrastructure that supports VoIP, or Voice over IP. This technology allows you to make free phone calls over your internet connection. Some predict it will eventually kill traditional phone service. To explain, imagine a world where you can connect wirelessly with your cell phone to local wi-fi networks and make phone calls free of charge. That’s powerful. Think of it not as VoIP. Think of it as VoIM (instant messenger).

Third, extend my last thoughts about VoIP into video chat. Once the bandwidth gets robust enough (and it will), we’ll be able to connect wirelessly with our friends through video enabled phones and have one-on-one conversations in real time. Yeah, this may seem like some weird sci-fi nonsense that’s 20 years out, but it’s not.

In any event, what do you make of these scenarios?

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