Google Talk Address
Posted on August 24, 2005 Posted by John Scalzi 10 Comments
I’ve downloaded Google Talk and have decided to make it my public IM address, at which anyone can drop me an instant message (as opposed to my private IM address, which is on another service entirely, and which is reserved for family, personal friends, and for business associates). If you have Google Talk or one of the IM services through which it can be reached feel free to add me. The account I’ll be under is:
Scalzenfreude –at– gmail.com (replace the “–at–” with “@”, of course)
“Scalzenfreude,” of course, being the German term meaning “The joy of talking to Scalzi.”
Be aware that as part of my whole “submerged” thing I have going until the end of August, if/when you add me to your list of contacts through the next several days, the conversation we’ll have about it is most likely to be along the lines of me saying “You’ve added me to your list? Awesome! Thanks! And now I have to go. See you in September!” Please don’t be offended. I’m not brushing you off personally, I’m brushing you off as part of a larger aggregate of people. Come September I’ll be positively sociable, promise.
(Also, I’m not at all likely to have a voice chat with people I don’t already know, especially right now, so trying to contact me that way is not likely to get any response at all. Sorry.)
Anyway, if you’ve ever wanted to experience me in an IM setting, there you have it.
Tried to add you, but it couldn’t find you so it’s sending you an invite… odd.
I have never tried the IM. Other than when you are “submerged”, do you find it fairly entertaining?
It just seems like it might be annoying to type along and have messages popping up on the screen. Oh wait…I don’t have any friends, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
John, those are clients not services—none of the other services IM have yet federated with Google (i.e. an AIM account can’t talk to a Google Talk account). In fact, none of the other services can talk to each other just like the Dark Days of email. As a result, most decent modern clients are forced to speak several different protocols (typically a subset of AIM,Yahoo!,MSN,Jabber/XMPP).
This is actually why Google’s announcement is sort of interesting since XMPP (the underlying protocol) is specifically designed to allow different services to talk to each other and they actually seem interested in hooking the servers together. Something AOL,MSN and Yahoo claimed they were going to do 5 years ago.
Add this to apparent plans to add SIP (which is used for Voice-Over-IP) and Google starts looking a lot like what Ma Bell should have done (Hell, I can think of at least 6 people who used to work at Bell Labs and now work at Google). :-)
I’m starting to think of Google as less a search engine company, and more an information exchange. And they want in on all the information, no matter the type or how fleeting it may be.
I think Google is simply a corporeal manifestation of the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s Noodly Appendage.
Have you been touched?
hey John I can’t seem to get a sign on name for google talk, I d/l but all it asks is for user name & not a place to make one…HELP.
Peace
finally figgerd it out. Thanks
google is a definite extension of the flying spaghetti monster’s noodly appendage.
and if you like, the apple blog has instructions on how to set up your Mac’s (Tiger/OS 10.4 only) iChat software to talk through Google Chat.
LOOK AROUND EVERYONE – being poor is in everyone’s backyard.
I was dropping off clothes & food for evacuees in Austin at the Salvation Army on 8th Street (7 blocks away from our pristine capitol) and I felt guilty for not bringing anything to the people who live HERE – in the city where I live.
Thanks, John, for blogging and your thoughtfulness.
HI I HAVE ADDED YOU TO GTALK