Word on instant chat: Real-time messaging a business asset

When John Fairey wants to chat with a colleague, but has no time to wait for an email answer or a face-to-face talk, he clicks on the buddy list on his computer screen and sends an instant message (IM). And he almost always gets an instant answer. “It is significantly more efficient,” says the 28-year-old equity researcher for Atlanta-based Pointer Capital. “It saves time.” Researchers say his company is on the cutting edge of a growing trend by providing software that allows workers to “talk” with each other on a “real time” basis, right from their desks.

[Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]