AOL IM is one of the few reasons that most people have stuck with AOL in recent days, or at least that is what it seems like. One survery showed that the majority of people with AOL have been with them for so long due to not wishing to change their email address. Many, many people stick with AIM because they do not wish to change their screen name and so many folks are still on AIM.

AIM does not have that many great features compared to a lot of other clients.

It is far too ad driven, too clunky, too slow, etc. The chat rooms do not work very well in my experience and ad bots have become quite common.

All in all I think a lot of people would have given away AOL Instant Messenger a long time ago if it were not for the herd mentality and the fact that most people are on the service. I certainly would not use AIM to conduct any serious business. Although some people do…

I would encourage you to look to Brosix Enterprise Messaging for our business mesaging needs. Check out Brosix.com for more!

Many, many reasons exist to use Brosix Enterprise Messaging. I have outlined the reasons on various blogs and websites throughout the net. One of the reasons I’d suggest using it is that it has no advertisements as AIM and other clients have but even beyond that very simple reason here are more:

1. Unlike GChat, AIM, and Yahoo you have complete control over your network with Brosix.

2. Brosix is encrypted - offering complete security.

3. Brosix offers audio features similar to Skype and other clients - but it also offers Voicemail which is nice.

4. Brosix offers more collaboration tools than other clients including screen sharing, whiteboards, etc.

5. Brosix allows you to build your own network and then host it on their server.

6. Brosix is more inexpensive than a lot of enterprise options.

7. Brosix Enterprise Messaging will keep enterprise email inboxes less full - or should at any rate, if used properly.

8. Brosix controls allow you to add clients to your network which should be extremely beneficial as you try to differentiate yourself from competitors.

I could go on but you get the point. Email me at nhahn at brosix dot org with your reasons or stories about why Brosix makes sense for you and your company.

And as always go to Brosix.com for details or to purchase Brosix!

Instant messaging is an extremely important facet of my communication life. I use it to keep in touch with friends, communicate with bosses and colleagues, and to stay in touch with my wife. My wife, friends, and I communicate throughout the day via instant messaging programs because it allows us to help each other, communicate about plans, or otherwise discuss things while we work without ringing each other on our cell phones.

Communicating with bosses and colleagues via IM is important as well. My boss is on conference calls or in meetings virtually all day. The only way I can get an immediate response from her without interrupting one of those meetings is to IM her. My colleagues are often doing similar things as well and I chat with them via the same method. I also work alongside a number of other people in side projects that can often demand my attention briefly during the work day which is why I use IM with them as well.

Not to mention the fact that companies, campaigns, etc. can use instant messaging to avoid discussing information that could be stolen my competitors, requested for discovery filings in lawsuit, or entering the public record.

All of these reasons and more are why instant messaging should be used in every day life - both personal and private. Check out Brosix Enterprise Messaging for a great enterprise messaging client that can help you communicate better.

I have worked in the nonprofit world in the past. In nonprofits fundraising and volunteering time are the two essentials. When it comes to fundraising donor communication is critical. I have spoken in the past of the importance of staying in constant touch with clients - whether business clients or donors but I haven’t discussed what you’re “supposed” to say.

We always talked about the “toolkit” - ie: what you had to offer that made you different or would inspire confidence in your organization.

If you are a business (or nonprofit) one part of your toolkit could be instant messaging - an enterprise instant messaging network that your clients could partake in could set you apart from the pack.

On the reverse - when you are picking your IM client you should look at their toolkit as well.

Brosix stands out from the crowd when you are considering your options for enterprise messaging. It has a Whiteboard feature that has won awards in terms of features. That feature along with other collaborative features such as screen sharing and cobrowsing will give you a leg up on the competition.

Other features abound for Brosix - check out http://www.brosix.com for a full listing!

Life is hard enough, business is stressful enough, without adding other things to the mix. One of the reasons that so few folks are considered “first adopters” - ie: people who try new technology - is that people like to stick with what they know to avoid confusion or adding anything complex to the mix.

Facebook didn’t become popular overnight, it grew slowly but surely over time - and then one day people woke up and everyone was on Facebook or talking about Facebook and it became essential.

Plus Facebook had an easy concept - you add friends, you login, you communicate with them.

Instant Messaging was the same way - it didn’t grow overnight. AOL IM and similar services grew as people added them, told their friends about it, and suddenly it was an easy way to communicate.

AOL IM is a tremendous resource and it is exceptionally easy to use because you just sign up for an account, download the program, login, and begin chatting it up with people.

Enterprise email didn’t offer the same ease but it is now relatively commonplace. Enterprise Instant Messaging has faced a number of difficulties in terms of adoption, one being that IT departments worry about adding yet another complex network to the solution.

The best part about clients like Brosix, for instance, is that they offer their own hosted networks. That makes setting up a network a snap and makes Brosix worth a look. Check out http://www.brosix.com for more!

Yahoo just launched a highly lauded iPhone Instant Messaging application, this is another positive sign as Yahoo attempts to turn around what used to be one of the leading tech companies in Silicon Valley. Yahoo took a series of wrong turns in the early 2000’s which lead them down the wrong path at the same time that Google soared. Now they are a distant second in search and looking for a magic bullet.

Their iPhone app is no magic bullet but Carol Bartz and her new team have begun to slowly move Yahoo in the right direction.

Yahoo IM on the iPhone is a great tool, but I would suggest avoiding it for enterprise purposes. Like any of the free messaging programs out there it has loopholes and security issues that can be exploited.

Hacker-produced worms have been running rampant in both microblogging and instant messaging programs in recent years and recent days. That is one of the reasons that Brosix Enterprise Messaging offers a great portable product and one of the reasons that I recommend using it over Yahoo IM or the other clients out there.

Brosix has only been around since 2006 and they have built a wonderful product in just a few short years. I recommend checking it out at http://www.brosix.com!

AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo, and MSN Messenger are all great services. I have used them to stay in touch with friends over the years. In recent years a number of developments have bugged me:

1. Spammers have dug in and truly become a nuisance.
2. Spambots exist.
3. In a sense I have more contacts then I need, to the point where I can’t keep up with everyone - or remember everyone.
4. Too many people have my screen name so I have to go “invisible” to get anything done sometimes - unfortunately what that means is I sometimes miss the people I need to speak to while trying to avoid the people who would waste my time.
5. Security. I simply do not trust them for sending files or anything similar.
6. Advertising is quite obnoxious.

I could list more complaints - and I am not bashing the services because I use them extensively due to all of my friends being on them. I would never, however, consider using them for business purposes for all of the reasons I listed above.

Time is valuable during the work day and so I do not want friends - or others - bothering me or distracting me in any way possible. I don’t want to see flashing ads while trying to communicate with a client or deal with spammers.

Perhaps most importantly I want security which is why I use Brosix Enterprise Messaging. Brosix is a small, independent company but they have been winning awards and racking up clients left and right. Their customer service is excellent and perhaps most importantly their networks are completely secure and hosted for you.

That is why I would recommend using Brosix at work and the rest at home if needed.

SMEs strive to survive the global credit crunch

It has now been officially acknowledged – the world is facing a serious economic setback; inflation is rising and the future seems unclear. Companies try to react and cut costs accordingly in order to be able to survive the harsh reality. But what can you do if you are not the size of GM and cannot afford to cut 10% of a 40,000-strong workforce? Small and medium-sized businesses seem very limited in terms of the savings that they are able to make.

Not necessarily, a new survey shows. It studied over 200 SMEs around the world, 73% of which stated that they have at least partially managed to cut costs in response to the global financial crisis. Here are some of the conclusions from this survey:

• Increased fuel and commodity costs have affected 80% of the small and medium-sized enterprises and has forced them to change their business practices.
• 73% of the firms have taken countermeasures, such as reducing office premises and introducing flexi hours, hot-desking, and home working.
• As a result, more people prefer to work from home and thus save transport costs.

While home working (also known as ‘telecommuting’) has often been referred to as the future of business, the present economic situation has accelerated the process and a growing number of professionals prefer to stay at home and work from there.

A recent development that has helped this process is the widespread popularity of the so-called ‘corporate instant messaging’. While phone and e-mail are still preferred means of business communication, instant messengers especially designed to meet the needs of businesses with many telecommuters or remote partners and clients are gaining widespread popularity, as they prove to be faster, cheaper, and more efficient that both phone and e-mail.

Brosix Corporate Instant Messenger is one of the most popular such solutions that were recently introduced and that a growing number of SMEs are now using. Brosix is a powerful and easy-to-use instant messenger which allows clients to create their own business instant messaging networks and organize a complete user selection which can be managed through an online control panel.

By using a corporate IM such as Brosix, firms can ensure the authenticity of network users and rely on highly secure communication for strict and confidential business purposes – which is indeed the main difference between a business IM and a free public messenger such as ICQ or MSN. Thus, SMEs get an optimized work process with additional features.

Brosix was founded in 2006 to develop simple, easy-to-use, secure communication tools for home and enterprises. Brosix goal is to enable people and organizations to benefit from innovative instant messaging and other Internet technologies without making substantial investments in hardware, software and infrastructure.