Instant messaging

Mobile Messaging is rapidly becoming the primary way users engage socially on mobile, Keith Teare.

Instant messaging is a type of online chat used for real-time communication among users on the Internet. It is an integral part of our daily social interactions, how we express, engage and connect with others. It is a fast, cheap, and convenient mean of communication. It is the dominant means of real-time communication on the Internet today.

How to use instant messaging effectively.

1. Organize your contact lists to separate business from personal contacts (family and friends). Facebook Messenger supports multiple accounts on one device so you should have a work account and a second account for personal contacts.

2. Avoid slang, jargon, irony, and sarcasm. Humour and sarcasm could be interpreted as rude and offensive.

   Humor is frequently misunderstood, an anathema in a society where political correctness has gone mad, consensus is imposed, and social networks and mass media have become ruthless. Regretfully, societies are devolving into cesspools of uncouth, uneducated, and oppressed pits of savagery, #Anawim. justtothepoint.

   

3. Communicate clearly and concisely. Avoid unfamiliar abbreviations, redundancy, or ambiguous statements.

4. Be considerate, pleasant, positive, and encouraging. Adhere to common netiquette guidelines.

5. Do not ramble, be brief, don’t make your texts or tweets too long, keep your paragraphs short. Instant messaging is appropriate for messages that only require a quick response.

6. You should always be aware that emails, tweets, posts, pictures, videos, and messages can be saved and shared with others, so don’t use them to communicate confidential or sensitive information, conflictive beliefs, radical opinions, inappropriate comments, and polarized arguments, and be careful with what you say, share, or do. Always think twice before saying something that can damage the credibility or reputation of a person, institution, or company.

   Do not be prejudiced and judgemental; instead, be supportive and kind to others.

7. Know when to say goodbye and say it gracefully: “Looking forward to chat with you soon!”, “Wow! I’ve just noticed the time! It’s getting late. It was a pleasure chatting with you!”, My phone is about dead right now, but it was great chatting with you!"

8. Reread your messages before sending them to ensure your ideas are clearly communicated and you may also want to recheck your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

9. Set your status to show everyone whether you are available or busy. For instance, active status shows your friends and contacts when you’re active on Facebook or Messenger: Chats, tap your profile picture in the top left, use the toggle at the top to turn your Active Status on or off.

10. Be wary of clicking on links and files attached to social media messages. Before opening or clicking them, verify with the sender and scan these files with anti-malware software.

You might be interested in reading our articles Abbreviations and apostrophes and Messaging apps, Some WhatsApp’s tricks.