There are a few rumours going around that Google is about to enter the IM market with a Jabber based service. (I just checked someone already owns GIM and IMOOGLE, so not sure what they'd call it). It does raise interesting questions about what they might do if they did enter the space. It would be quite interesting to be having a chat with a colleague and in a side panel of the IM window have relevant Google Ads and search results appearing based upon the converstaion content much as they do in the GMail.

The difference is, IM is realtime and what it now or before we even now we want it. I can see a huge value for this in enterprises, where the enterprise version of the Google search appliance is hooked into a Google IM, wait forget that, it should be any enterprise IM client. HR people could be discussing a policy and the search engine results start appearing in the panel as it understands more of the conversation content. Two resarch scientists start discussing project and related patent and internal research project links start appearing.

Anyone want to send me a load of cash to start the company to do this ? :-)

Either way, Google upped the ante for free email by increasing storage space, and making it interesting to end users by giving the impression that you have to be special to get an invite. What could they do with IM? Free web-conferncing? eMail integration out of the gate? Clearing house for enterise IM servers to speak with each other?

Carl Tyler
www.instant-tech.com