IMers: Take a Number

November 13, 2007

I have about as much use for instant messaging as I do for scores of unannounced visitors rapping at my door every other hour. It’s an interruption that I can do without. And so for that reason, I have the IM feature turned off on my email. It probably sounds like a cranky-old-bat thing to do. But, really. Can’t IM be less annoying?

The answer is yes. A prototype software bot called IMBuddy (Download IMBuddy.pdf) works like an invisible personal assistant that peeks in on you to see if you’re busy and then communicates that to would-be messengers.

“Right now the only cues the IM clients have are “away,” “idle,” or “online.” But you can be online and be busy,” said PhD candidate Karen Tang of Carnegie Mellon University, who along with PhD candidate Gary Hsieh, spoke with me about their project.

The way it works is that people interested in sending you a message, first send a message to IM Buddy (his screen name is IMBuddy411). The person can ask where you are (information the software gets by recognizing the wireless signal in your home, school, office, or café), how busy you are (based on things like how many windows you have open and how much keyboard clicking you’re doing), and what applications you have open.

“You might be more or less interruptible when you’re working in Word than when you are surfing the Web,” said Hsieh.

An answer to the query comes back in a popup bubble with feedback showing if the person’s business is low or high.

It’s not perfect. I mean, sometimes my most intense concentration (and the need for silence) comes when I’m writing and thinking about writing. At those times, I’m not surfing the web or typing or doing anything but sitting there. But it’s a step in the right direction.

The researchers are going to be testing the service next in Facebook.

Comments

[Patty]

Ah, you haven't worked in an environment that thrives on IM's. I couldn't work without it. It is a constant communication link between my team members and me. Of course, everyone respects the 'busy' message so the issue of interruptions is, well, not an issue.

What's the difference between having a little bot come and ask you if your busy, that's an interruption in my book, and having someone IM you? You can ignore either. No software required.

[PJ]

I'm skeptical. I agree with you Tracy, sometimes when only one document is open, I'm most focused or busy and when I'm surfing with a number of windows open, I'm just surfing. But, sometimes it's the other way around. I put this up there with the other useless inventions that miss the intended market need...in this case, uninterupted quiet time. As for me, I'll keep the IM off.