Which IM do you prefer?

[Feety]

I have been using AIM for years now. I wouldnt choose anything over it.

I have tried Gtalk but wasnt really internest by the skin of it and things.

[zandyne]

I use AIM and MSN for my instant messaging needs; over 80% of my contacts are on these programs so they are a must. In the past, I've tried ICQ a bit.

[john23]

I use AIM mostly, virtually all my contacts are on AIM.

[llkooldudell45]

In terms of performance and features, Yahoo and MSN dominate. But AIM has around 10 times as many people using it. All my friends are on AIM. Which is why I don't use Yahoo or MSN.

[Faucet]

aim for me cuz almost everyone i know uses it.

[zeroth]

MSN here, although I sometimes use AIM and ICQ if my contacts do not use MSN.

[dave7]

I would use MSN over all those ones listed.

[zemus]

MSN over AIM, I do not like all that extra software that AIM installs.

[imported_chris]

I use MSN most of the time, but when some of my contacts are only on AIM, I load AIM up.

[MarkSpacey]

Which instant-messaging application do you use the most and why?
Some Wikipedia "facts" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messaging :

* AIM: 53 million active users (Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2005), 195 million total (January 2003).
* Skype: 45 million total (September 2005).
* MSN Messenger: 29 million active (Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2005), 155 million total (April 2005).
* Yahoo! Messenger: 21 million active (September 2005).
* ICQ: 15 million active world wide, 400 million total .
* Jabber: 13.5 million enterprise users (Osterman Research August 2005), this does not count users via ISPs and other service providers (estimated to be more than 7.5 million, for a total of at least 21 million).
* QQ: 10 million active, 400 million total users (Tencent Q1 results 2005).
* Gadu-Gadu: 3.6 million total (January 2005).

[Scampy]

MSN Messenger
I must be getting old because Im getting absolutly sick of it.

[darviria]

I use MSN Messenger through Gaim

[MikeDammann]

ever since gmail has integrated gtalk, I've been using the other messengers less and less. But yes, I'm on all of them ... I just don't use them normally unless someone doesn't have GTalk

[pctec]

I used to use msn but these days I have no time for such things. But if I had to choose, msn.

[BILZ]

the new MSN is pretty neat, it works with yahoo messenger also.

[Fry]

I use MSN messenger, the new Windows Live version which I really like.
What instant messenger service do you use?

[LearnMeTechie]

Originally Posted by kareja

The newer version has not only text offlines but also voice offlines. Someone can leave you a voice message which you can listen to, after you login. Isn't it nice!

Regarding ICQ, because of the number, there might have been many applications which can just generate a number and spam them!

Man it's been a long time since I've used an IM service. I really like what you've said about the setup of Yahoo Messenger though. I knew the newer version had the voice option, but I had no idea about the other features. As my business gets up and going, I'll definately have to pick one of these services to use. I know some business owners use several just to keep in touch with their clients.

Needless to say, I never liked MSN or ICQ. They were both royal pains.

[sbcal]

About 80% of my contacts are AIM users, another 10% are Yahoo and the rest are a combination of ICQ and Jabber. I had just upgraded to Trillian Pro (job required) and loving it since. I also have Gaim on my machine serving as a backup.