Thursday, 14 December 2006

Module 2 - ICQ

Many (many) years ago a friend introduced me to ICQ, I used it for a few months but got sick of random strangers and was bored with it. Until this unit I had not thought about ICQ at all. So to complete the tasks and reconnect with ICQ, downloaded and refamiliarized myself with it.

Now that the task is over, I will be removing it from my computer and never going back to it again. I can understand part of what Keith Law (WebCT Netstudies discussion board Message no. 777) is saying. I entered the Forum for Travel, all I found was endless messages of how I could get my hands on some cheap viagra! - Sorry my time is a bit more valueable that reading spam.

As per the module, I attempted to add contacts to my ICQ (including "Netstudies" - until I read on the WebCT discussion board that ICQ Netstudies is not available!) and was struck with problems, rather than just add them as I would expect it to do, it requested me to download cmd.php, which I did but once downloaded it errored upon opening.

To attempt to solve this I wandered to the ICQ help area - however the instructions provided did not match the way my browser displayed (maybe its an IE7 thing?). I guess I could have persisted to solve these issues however I didn't feel the invested time would provide me with any greater clarity or better impression of ICQ.

I don't currently use any instant messaging myself, however I have seen how it can work as an efficient and effective communication tool. Some of my work collegues constantly engage in dialogue with our Sydney office. Using MSN chat for some instances saves using the phone or drafting an email. They can't imagine conducting their daily work without it.

From a personal perspective I also see advantages: A friend who's family is all living in India finds it a modern way to have her family "around" and being able to share little isntances with them, things that she would not bother putting in an email or picking up the phone to discuss. (what's better, she can simply log off, when she has had enough of them!)

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