AOL buddies up to increase IM wingspan
Published: 05 Apr 2002 07:31 BST
America Online has struck a deal with a developer that could turn on Web sites into vast instant messaging playgrounds, the companies said on Thursday.
PresenceWorks will use its "presence technology" to embed AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM) capabilities into Web sites. For example, the technology on Monster.com, a job search Web site, would allow job seekers to chat with potential employers who could leave their AIM contact information on the site. Shoppers on eBay, meanwhile, could interact with sellers, and the list of email senders in a Microsoft Outlook inbox could be turned into one long "buddy list".
Currently, a user of IM technology must compile addresses in order to form a buddy list, which shows whether people are online or offline, and available to chat. With the new embedded technology, people can contact scores of strangers using IM. PresenceWorks' software embeds "presence information" -- signals that show when someone is online -- into the directories and databases driving Web sites and consumer Web directories.
The technology is expected to "drive subscriptions, increase customer retention, speed communications, increase transactions, enhance service and save on communications costs" for Web sites, said Matt Smith, PresenceWorks founder and chief executive, in a statement. Financial details of the deal were not released.
The news is likely to boost AIM, which AOL claims is the most widely used IM network, with more than 140 million registered users. Microsoft and Yahoo! also offer popular IM technologies, but their IM technologies are not interoperable.
Smaller companies such as PalTalk and Trilliam have tried to force interoperability on AOL only to have their service shut out or their subscribers denied access to the AOL network.
"Presence is the key to making AIM use ubiquitous," said Raul Mujica, vice president of AOL's AIM division.
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