Facebook has been testing a new instant messaging service and will be launching it to the public soon, perhaps in the next week.
Our understanding is that the service will be built into user’s Facebook pages and allow them to web chat with their Facebook friends. We’ve also heard that, like Gtalk, it will be built on the Jabber open source platform, allowing users to add the service to many popular Instant messaging clients like Trillian (Windows) and Adium (Mac). I’d also expect web chat services like Meebo and eBuddy to add support for the service.
This spells trouble for a slew of instant messaging services that third parties have built on Facebook. Social.IM, for example, is one (funded) startup we’ve written about a couple of times. (As is FriendVox from UK startup Techlightenment). Those applications are now basically dead.
The timing on this certainly is interesting. Yesterday AOL talked extensively about marrying their AIM platform with their newly acquired Bebo social network.
There’s a screen shot of this floating around out there somewhere. We’re trying to get our hands on it now.
Update: I’m now hearing that this won’t be Jabber-compliant, at least at first. That means access will be Facebook only unless they create an API and/or third parties figure out a way to hack into the service as they’ve done with Yahoo, MSN and AIM in the past. Also, just to be clear, I have not heard that Facebook intends to launch any desktop software around this.
This is huge, thanks for the exclusive Michael. Off to twitter about it now!
I’m glad it’s based on Jabber like Gtalk. It means that people can use pidgin. The MySpace one was stupid. Who needs another IM protocol? MySpace was doing chat like it was 1995.
Buh bye AIM.
Wow, that should be HUGE. I’m currently loving facebooks video email system.
they should just buy out meebo. hell, just grant them 1% of that fake 15 billion valuation and it should be fine.
Wow, this is pretty seismic. I’ve used AIM on and off for years, but never really found it useful for my “social graph” since I don’t use any other AOL services and it’s a pain to use two completely different methods of communication (Facebook and AIM). If we can just do IM directly via Facebook, that makes things much more exciting!
I can just see all of my MSN buddies from school ditch MSN (and Hotmail) and just use Facebook messages and Facebook IM (they don’t get any email from anything that NEEDS an email address).
Mike – Did you get this info from those $25 hired-on-craigslist testers?
I hope they build a client and not just a chat and it’s then supported by Adium – don’t want another splinter group. I remember when I helped to launch AIM when I was at AOL. Those were the days – funny as I’m writing a post about my first failures (during that same period).
This is brilliant. Instant IM platform with 60 million+ users. SHABAM!
“This spells trouble for a slew of instant messaging services that third parties have built on Facebook. Social.IM, for example, is one (funded) startup we’ve written about a couple of times. Those applications are now basically dead.”
I’m really sorry to know that. This is something Microsoft is good at. It is really bad for Facebook as such an new innovative startup to use such a dirty trick to kill another startup Social.IM who are building applications for it.
Microsoft ISVs are quite familar with this. They provides you a platform to allow you to develop applications for that platform. They considers you as a part of their so named ecosystem. However, once they have found your application is too cool to miss it, you’re under threat: They will do the same thing and offer it for free and then you’re out. So from this point of view, they are the big brother of the ecosystem. You would be killed by them at any time when necessary.
Even though i’m not a huge facebook user, IM is huge. Gtalk integrating aim made me not have to login to meebo anymore. Facebook could have the same effect for millions of users if they support multiple protocols.
-Jeff
Also, the amount of mistakes AOL made at cornering this market is staggering.
First the inability to capitalize on AOL Profiles (friendster?), the insistence on closing off access (MSN is now dominant international, no what?), inability to capitalize on ICQ (skype?), the fiasco with AIMspace then AIMpages (myspace?), inability to realize that Away messages or AIM profiles (friendfeed and facebook) were addictive, and now in the middle of trying to metamorphosis into an Adsense competitor and legitimatizing the brilliant merger they’re trying to pretend they’re still relevant too by integrating yet another 850 million mistake.
Randy Falco, you sir, are out of your elements. Yet another old media fart trying to pretend he has the balls to match wits with Silicon Valley. Not going to happen, maybe it’s best you just go back to greenlighting more shitty tv shows.
you say that the existing facebook IM clients are all basicly dead. I’m sure one, probably Social.IM, will just jump onto the Open Social bandwagon and support other social networks.
@11 – disagree with the ‘underhanded – microsoft-eqe comparison”, IM on fb seems logical and valuable – if users will love it and it helps fb grow and retain users then its just a smart move.
Time to sign-up for yet another IM account. We need OpenIM – right?
At last… And what about real friend lists features to manage circles more acurately (family, friends, coworkers…) and so on…
Well this a pretty big deal.
My real life social network is a million times more accurate on Facebook than it is on MSN Messenger.
A few points.
1) Any FB app that’s successful and fits into facebook’s vision…they’ll recreate and win.
2) Don’t see this being extremely disruptive. Sure I might use it but I won’t be abandoning other IM networks. IM networks are (or will be) moving towards being more open so facebook/aim/msn/y! … won’t matter. Which is how it should be anyways.
3) Glad it’s built on Jabber…that makes perfect sense and is supported out of the bag by various IM clients.
@1,
huge what? in what way?
Cool. Facebook grabs another chunk of our lives.
I love this game!!!
Brilliant Facebook.
very cool! I can’t wait to see the impact this will have on the others.
I can see this being a hit, but only because everyone uses Facebook already. I doubt they will actually add anything innovative at all to IM. Desktop IM still has a better feel to it, and doesn’t require you to be on the website to use it. Also, doesn’t using Jabber limit their advertising revenue? I guess we’ll have to wait for these screenshots.
Why are people saying this is so brilliant?
The day I joined Facebook in 2005 I wondered why they didn’t have an IM component. It was obvious.
People outgrow AIM because of its foundation on dorky screennames. Facebook’s wont work if its web based. When I’m browsing facebook, I don’t want to be IMed.
However, when I have AIM open, I want to be IMed. That’s why facebook should do this iwth a desktop app rather than web based IMO. And it should NOT show you online for IM unless you choose to be online for IM.
Pretty good idea for them to use XMPP, especially with AIM building their XMPP daemon to interface with the AIM data. Now they can easily interface with AIM and GTalk without the needs for any kind of transport/gateway system.
*Rant!*
Am I the only one who isn’t strung out on Facebook fever? Facebook is well done. I do use it frequently — and see value — in being able to easily keep in contact with my real-life friends. But my visits are extremely short and uninteresting: login, check my notices, write some happy-bday wishes on a wall or two, leave. Maybe at 24 I am actually just too old, but it feels like a utility. It just feels like the excitement is gone. Maybe it’s because I never meet anyone new on Facebook and it resembles my dull life. Or, maybe apps (while a brilliant idea) are just spam-machines that add no value to me whatsoever, only annoyance. Who knows.
What I do know is that I am not on there enough for IM to make sense. I always have Gmail open, so Gtalk is handy – I wonder how many people will use IM on Facebook? And is it really that awesome of an idea? Isn’t it just an obvious step in their path to being yet-another-token-social-network?
(Note: I am happy they are using Jabber – Facebook does well when it comes to implementation decisions.)
The application model is a very smart move for facebook
It enables them to view in real time which apps and services are popular and what their customers want
They then have the option to develop their own app based on the measured success of others with minimal risk
IM has obviously been a popular app amongst facebook users
How do you rate? Meet new people! http://www.yupnup.com
great move, totally logical extension of facebook’s service – should also drive more traffic back to facebook.com.
they should have twitterlike update functionality in the im client — basically get newsfeed alerts in your im.
It’s very nice but what is the point of opening up your platform if you don’t create opportunities for app developers ????
Hello,
I am sitting here with my nine year old son and he just asked me how do I get to be #2 on Technorati. I am currently 45k. I told him I have no idea bit this guy surely does. Awaiting anxiously on your reply
johnmwillis.com
@17 – Circle of Friends (http://apps.fac.../friendcircles/) allows users to manage their lists of friends. They have over 7 million users. I think that they could do more to help people manage their content within other applications. What do you think?
By the time FB rips off enough of their developer apps, and intergrates them, Face Book will be a bigger cluster fu*k then AOL at it’s heyday. Funny to hear someone worry about their ” social graph”. Kinda like the farmer selling watermelons at a loss. When asked how he would solve it, he replied” I guess I need a bigger truck”. FB is not making money and I don’t see they will anytime soon. FB is a world all it’s own and it will fall. Give it 12-18 months.
This is the major issue with companies being built on the Facebook platform. Who is seriously funding facebook app companies? If you have a product that is remotely cool / valuable, facebook can simply build it into the core functionality. They will kill anything that becomes cool.
This is great if you are a garage tinkerer, and like having your app used by tons of people. But I am still baffled by VC firms dumping money into apps that can easily be wiped out by the mothership simply cloning them.
Can someone please explain this to me?
@31 That’s exactly my point of view.
“Circle of friends” is an app, but the point is, soon FB will introduce a feature to sort your friends. They have already introduces Friend list… But I don’t think, it’s enough.
Here is what you was written for months on http://www.face...om/whatsnew.php (unavailable now ???)
“Sort out your friends.
We’ll let you organize that long list of friends into groups so you can decide more specifically who sees what.”
They wrote after :
“Friend Lists Privacy
You’ll be able to control visibility for your profile, photos, and more using your friend lists.”
( http://tinyurl.com/25whe9 )
If I edit my status, the question is “is this status has to be seen by my coworkers or only my friend or I don’t care ?”… Hope, it’s coming.
@33
It’s simple. If your name is Max Levchin you get to keep your toys on Facebook. Or if you happen to know any of the major VCs backing Facebook, you get to keep your toys. If not, well then, you just got punk’d by Marky Mark. Welcome to the real world, idiot, next time don’t spend so much time working for free for someone else.
This isn’t brilliant at all….
Come on, ANOTHER instant message service
Fortunately I have Digsby, which is like trillian but better. Try it.
Awaiting screenshot, Mike. I’m sure you guys’ll find it!
Peter Thiel invested in Facebook AND Mogad/Social.im…
Could there be more to the story?
“The skies will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.”
I hate Facebook and I hate IMing but put them together and you’ve got something attractive even for the Web 0.0 generation. So, I say — probably got legs…
Actually I would like to know what’s on the minds of other APP developers seeing how one of their brethren (Social.IM) getting annihilated by FB’s move.
Facebook will acquire social.im fb instant messenger. ; )
wait some…
Breaking News…. Facebook just released FaceBookOS and FacebookOffice free to all Facebook members!
@25 I agree with you. Why are people so surprised ? Facebook has the power of a huge audience that is there to kill time and gossip. Facebook will continue to pull out such features/ apps to be a one stop social utility. But there is too much hype about social networking right now, people are amazed to see their old friends on it but this all temporary. Facebook is a toy, not a need like google, and people get bored with toys…. so if people think that facebook is the next google they are very wrong. Like the way social networking thing went up …. its going to go down in the same way,its going to be a domino effect when people start realizing that their friends are not active any more. Already I see alot of people getting bored of it, I dont think no matter how many applications facebook comes up with people will eventually get fed up and 5-6 years down the lane, social networking would be a thing of the past ! Just what happened to MIRC, friendster, Aol chat rooms etc etc….
….And Next Month, a Facebook Search Engine!
awesome! take that AOL.
@josefvirek
u forgot the facebooktimes : )
social.im didnt make a logo for fb instant messenger. why? : ))
Let this serve as a lesson to all those businesses that are looking to build applications around facebook’s closed network. You will get crushed. Facebook believes they can build everything (and probably can) so when you build a cool application all you are doing is getting your apps on a radar screen.
You best move your business models to OpenSocial