Let's Talk About Chat

Chat the Instant Way, Using Your Buddy

If you find it difficult to catch your friends online in standard chat rooms, try using a buddy program. Buddy software keeps tabs on people you know, notifies you when they're online, then lets you chat back and forth. Think of it as a supersmart pager and telephone combo for the Internet.

Numerous buddy programs compete for your business, but two of the best are ICQ (as in "I seek you") and America Online's Instant Messenger (AIM). Download ICQ from www.icq.com or AIM from www.aol.com/aim. (You don't have to be an AOL member to use AIM.) Both are free, so cost isn't an issue. But coordinate first with your friends and family; each program has its own way of connecting and communicating, so you must all use the same one.

Once you're in agreement, simply add your friends to your buddy list--that's the list of people you want to track--by using the program's search tool. When your friends are logged on, the software alerts you that they're available. To chat, just click on your buddy's name. A small box where you can type your message appears on the screen. As soon as you click the Send button, the message flies to your buddy, who can respond by pressing a Reply button on the window that pops up on her end. As in traditional chat, you take turns "talking."