The buzz word is not the internet this time around; its “broadband” and the state of “living” online thanks to Instant Messaging solutions like MSN, Yahoo and AIM.
The Status features and Personal Message combined allows you to actually live and be outside normal venues beyond merely being “Online”, you actually have a number of states of online being, you can be away, busy, out to lunch or any other customized states some of these tools provide.
So you wake up in a gloomy mood, your personal message/name can communicate that to other contacts on your list. Whatever you experience has a chance of getting there, your life is online.
Yeah I know some think this silly, I did for the longest time. Thinking it was another attention-seeking method to provoke other contacts to give you a shout. Ok it is, but its more than that, it’s like wearing different hats or T-shirts with different sentences or even putting different pins that describe your state of mind at any given moment.
Sometimes, I feel I want to put several personal messages, like
raZan – cocking dinner
raZan – snowing hard
raZan – 20 days to go
raZan – at the bank?
Sometimes they get to be longer, like
raZan – wallet in the mail!! CRAZY MAD world!
Sometimes they get very short, one message saying:
raZan – shocked
so moods, discoveries and announcements like:
raZan – PR Card Application Sent Finally!
Sometimes I would be hanging out at my friends place and I go check his/her MSN and see how he sees me, then I smile when I see
raZan – Dinner at Nadeem’s
and other times I’d be spending a whole day or evening outside and wonder if I can change my LIVE-status right there and then, so people around me can stop bugging me with questions like what’s wrong? Are you ok? Whats on your mind?? of course even if I say the personal message to them, they will keep asking me because I can’t be “Away” they can see I am here!
From a social tool to an anti-social one, broadband living is fun, exciting and grows on you a bit by bit.
