The Movement to the Web

Instant Messaging is something that I've used quite a bit over the years, so this was nothing new. I've actually been around long enough to view some of the IM trends, like the huge ICQ movement, AOL becoming the powerhouse, then MSN taking over. Now we're at a place that web based clients are becoming better and better, and with that their use has grown also.

I have used the web based versions of AOL and MSN that are provided from AOL and Microsoft, but now I use Meebo almost exclusively, simply because they are all in one spot. Functionality isn't very compromised either, the old days saw crippled versions available in all-in-one solutions.

The movement to web based utilities (as opposed to simple information banks) is one that I think is a very natural progression for the internet, and one that I really like. We're being less required to have vast amounts of software installed on our machines, and because everything is available to us on the web, all we need is an internet connection and a decent browser to be more than productive.

We have our office suites, instant messenger, and with the recent release of a live Photoshop webapp, we even have things like image editors. The demands for our personal computers are actually getting less, gone are the days where the majority of the number crunching involved with digital creation takes place on a users pc. Servers take care of all that for us, leaving us with doing the math for our interface and providing the creativity which has driven the entire movement from the start.

It sure is an interesting thing to watch, and be a part of.