Instant messaging

Instant messaging or IM is a method of communicating via the Internet and "chatting online" is a way of communicating with people in real-time.

Clients

There are many instant messaging clients available. Some support multiple protocols while others are limited to a single protocol.

Multiple protocol clients

• Pidgin (multi-platform)
• Trillian (Windows)
• Adium (Mac)
• iChat (Mac)
• Messages (Mac)

Single protocol clients

• AOL Instant Messenger or AIM
• Google Talk
• Windows Live Messenger
• ICQ
• Yahoo! Messenger
• Facebook Chat

See also

• Jabber