MSN Web Messenger

Late to the punch, but big news nonetheless in the mainstream. MSN has released an official Web Messenger that allows you to sign in and have an MSN session from anywhere you have access to a web browser.

This is useful in a number of scenarios... for example, Atlanta Freenet is a wireless community network serves the public at a coffee house I sometimes go to. Trouble is, it allows web and mail traffic, but blocks MSN. Many companies also try to block IM, often in vain. This won't make it easier.

AIM has had this service for some time (although it is a java plugin). And MSN has too... although all were done by hobbyists and are harrassed from time to time by MSN. For several years, sites such as E-Messenger and MSN2Go have been offering such a service for free. Initially set up as a way to access MSN through a mobile WAP connection, they quickly were jumped on by others. Based on the buzz and personal contacts I'm exposed to, the vast majority of the users are teenagers, reflecting the IM population as a whole. Number one use? Accessing IM from schools that block normal traffic.

And apparently it's a little battle in some schools. The sites get blocked of course (as they do in many companies), so new sites constantly pop up. Oviously, MSN is reacting to a need others are filling right now, but I doubt these rouge services will go away.

In fact, it's a bit silly... the young, who seem to effortlessly be able to handle being constantly connected, are on to something that has more positive than negative consequences, both in the real world and in the business world.