Meebo

6 multiclient IM apps to chat about

A variety of multiclient instant-messaging services have cropped up that allow users to communicate with each other over the Web. Some can be downloaded onto your desktop, while others can be accessed on the Internet. In either case, they're worth trying out, if you want to enjoy a fine experience communicating with your friends.

Multiclient IM resources

Adium Adium is my favorite multiclient instant-messaging tool for a few reasons. It supports practically any IM platform around, including AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, MySpace, Google Talk (via Jabber), and more. It even has a plug-in for Skype.

You'll rarely have any trouble communicating with friends in the service. But its most redeeming quality is that it's open source. So, if you want to modify the code to fit your own IM desires, that's possible. And those in the open-source community are constantly improving the product, whose updates typically install with ease.

When you download Adium (it's available for Mac OS X), you'll have the option of choosing your IM service. By default, Adium takes on the same design as Mac OS X. But with the help of some plug-ins from Adium's site, called "Xtras," you can customize it as you see fit. Those add-ons include emoticons, dock icons, scripts, and more. I could go on about Adium, but I think that you get the point: if you're a Mac OS X user, it's worth trying out.

Digsby Digsby is a multifaceted tool that lets you communicate with friends over instant messaging, e-mail, or social networks. I recently took a look at its social-networking capabilities. After having the opportunity to use its IM services, I was just as impressed.

After installing Digsby on my Windows PC (Mac and Linux versions are reportedly on the way), I was able to log in to my accounts on AIM, Yahoo Mail, Facebook, and others. Digsby's app is designed well, with a more attractive interface than Adium's default skin. Digsby also gives you the option of sending an SMS text message from the application. Overall, I liked Digsby.… Read more

Meebo: We're making bank

I got an impenetrable pitch from Meebo Monday about some new features in the company's "Community IM" program that we covered in October. The note said, "Content sites interested in increasing the volume of content sharing, but without their own social graph, can use the multi-network IM feature to expand their reach and drive social interactions."

Following up -- because I do love a puzzle and I remain curious about Meebo's business -- I learned that Meebo is expanding its chat product that sites like CafeMom are using with a few features that link … Read more

Webware 100 winner: Meebo

Site: Meebo.com Category: Social & Publishing

Meebo is a multi-network instant-message service that runs in your browser window. It emulates the look and feel of similar software services, yet requires no download or installation. You can also "pop out" your chat windows and buddy list, just in case you want to escape the confines of your browser.

In 2007, Meebo launched an application platform, letting developers create applications and services that tie into Meebo's chat architecture. The service also offers "Rooms," which makes it easy for users to share media and Web sites.

Beyond … Read more

Webware Radar: Meebo unveils interactive ads

Meebo, a Web service that lets people access instant messaging services from anywhere, announced Monday that it is launching an extension to its ad platform. Starting in the second quarter, Meebo will attempt to expand its reach across the Web by increasing the number of sites that feature integrated Meebo ads. Meebo ads will feature video, apps, games, news, quizzes, product showcases, and more. The ads will go live in the coming weeks.

AirSage, a company that turns real-time cell phone signals into traffic data for popular mapping services like Google Maps, announced that it has enhanced its traffic information … Read more

Webware Radar: Magnolia founder blames self

Social-bookmarking service Magnolia is in deep trouble. Founder Larry Halff, who has been keeping users up-to-date on progress being made on restoring the company's database server, which suffered from file system corruption last week, said in a blog post on Thursday that he believes that he let the Magnolia community and himself down by using a single backup for the site's data. The company's backup server also suffered from file corruption, leaving the entire site down and all its data unrecoverable.

In the blog post, Halff said he is "currently working with a data recovery company … Read more

Facebook tells Meebo to rework Chat integration

Facebook has instructed Meebo to temporarily take down its newly implemented Facebook Chat integration. According to Meebo, Facebook would like them to, "...connect to their network in a different way." Facebook has committed developers from Chat and Facebook Connect to help Meebo get Facebook Chat up and working on the service again.

To be clear, Facebook is in no way discouraging Meebo from integrating Facebook Chat into its service; it's just asking Meebo to hook-in through a new and most likely more secure method. Facebook has a history of cracking down on unauthorized uses of their data … Read more

MySpace, Facebook IM come to Meebo

Web-based chat company Meebo has announced that it now supports MySpace and Facebook's instant-messaging services. That adds to a lineup that already includes Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and ICQ.

"Today's announcement reflects Meebo's long-time goal of offering open access to all IM and social-networking users, as well as providing them with the best IM experience possible," co-founder and CEO Seth Sternberg said in a release. "People have friends across a variety of different social networks, and Meebo is a place where they can come for real-time social … Read more

Meebo, Universal Music strike a chord

Web-based chat company Meebo has partnered with Universal Music Group to bring ad-supported music videos to the service.

As a kickoff, Universal artists Kanye West, Ludacris, and the Killers will be featured on the Meebo home page. In return, Meebo chat rooms will be embedded on Universal artists' sites.

I'm still not quite sure why a chat start-up needs Kanye videos when Mr. West and his many pairs of sunglasses are already plastered all over the rest of the Internet, but I'll let that rest for now.

In the past year, Meebo has launched an application programming interface, … Read more

Meebo brings embeddable chats to Hearst sites

Instant-messaging service Meebo announced on Thursday that it has inked a deal with Hearst Magazines Digital Media that will bring its Meebo Rooms chat tools to the sites of glossies such as Popular Mechanics and Seventeen.

"Meebo is excited to provide readers of Seventeen.com and other Hearst Magazines Digital Media Web sites with a live forum to chat with people who share similar interests and differing opinions," Martin Green, chief operating officer at Meebo, said in a statement.

In tandem with the partnership announcement, Seventeen.com integrated Meebo's technology into its "Style Stars 2008" … Read more

Meebo IM goes native on Google Android--poorly

Meebo for Google Android is not a terrible instant-messaging application. But it isn't a very good representation of what IM clients for the Android platform can do, or even a good representation of what Meebo itself can do.

In this first release, the free Meebo mobile application lets you chat with friends on the major IM networks--Yahoo, Windows Live Messenger, AOL, ICQ, Jabber, and Google Talk. It also runs in the background while you work on other applications and scrolls message notifications across the status tray. So far, so good.

However, that about plays out Meebo's feature set … Read more