More about IM at work

Forbes has an interesting article on the subject. Here's a quote:

"People send instant messages without giving any thought to whether the other person is free," she says. "You should ask if someone has a minute at the outset." And we shouldn't take offense if someone we ping doesn't respond. "If they're online they're obviously doing something--they're not sitting there twiddling their thumbs waiting to hear from you," says Klinkenberg, "so leave them alone."

That about sums up my take on the matter -- because it's easy for us to contact someone when we have a minute, we tend not to think about the person on the other end. I think this is part of the same phenomenon as "if I'm not busy, you must not be busy."*


I also found it fascinating to see the prices these etiquette consultants charge.

Update 6/10/05: This post says it better than I can. Chat: Productivity Kryptonite
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* One night, when I was working in a hospital lab, a nurse called and said:"Since you're not busy, could you..."
I replied, "Why do you think I'm not busy?"
"Well, it's slow on my floor tonight."