Web 2.0'ing IM. Web 2.0 is really taking off.
There are essentially two aspects to it.

The first one is to provide "hooks" to developers which allow then to essentially access the information that they can get on the sites pages programmatically.
Amazon, Yahoo, Google, Salesforce.com all provide "webservices" which are to put it simply an interface into their applications. So, for example you could implement your own "Google" search in your application, build your own Yahoo maps application and show prices in Amazon of whatever books take your fancy in your own webpage.

The second one is to "webify" client applications. With the sudden frenzied resurrection of AJAX helping making the user experience more client like and some very clever and heavy coding in Javascript, smart and patient( ever tried debugging in javascript ? ) developers have with a vengence freed one application after another from the bastions of the desktop.
Consider the advantages, not tied to any operating system, no per client installation issues and no security issues, no version clash issues and ofcourse uinversal access.
Early successes include the email, with Oddpost and to a certain extent Gmail. ( The new Yahoo mail beta which uses oddpost technology indiacate a step in the same direction. ). Kiko for calender and scheduling, Zimbra for collaboration, Netvibes for personal dashboard are other noteworthy mentions.

IM is the latest stronghold of the client to fall. Have a look at Meebo. Meebo allows a user to login to any of the four most popular IM clients from a webpage and allows them to chat all on a webpage ! No client installation required at all. Very cool !

cross posted on the technology blog  ¶ permalink