Ten Ways to Make AIM More Productive
By "Craig Kilborn"
I thought a bit about it and came up with a few ideas to
make being on AIM a little more worthwhile. I'm not
saying that you must do these things, but I think
trying them every now and then should shake things up
and make them more interesting for both you and
everyone else.
1. Have an agenda.
When you log on, have some task you want to accomplish
in mind, like finding out if someone is keeping a
secret or seducing someone, for example. Having an
objective will definitely help in making AIM more
active.
2. If you're in a chat be IN it.
Don't go off to update or play a game or something
when you're in a chat. Exit the chat and come back. If
you plan to be back, leave yourself an invite and
return or ask someone to invite you back again.
3. If you're losing focus/getting bored, exit.
The problem with AIM is it takes energy to do it well,
and if you are staying on a while, that can be
difficult.
4. If someone is leaving, don't beg them to stay.
Guilt about logging off really doesn't help anything.
If you have some agenda that you need the person who
is leaving for, that might be a reason to ask them to
stay. BUT, if you just want them to hang out, maybe
that isn't so good.
5. Log on at different times.
Different people are around at different times of day.
Sometimes going on at a time you aren't normally
around could bring some interesting and new links.
6. Mininum brackets.
Nothing really brings AIM to a grinding halt more than
the dreaded "[]," at least for me. If we are really
playing the game, unless there is some really crucial
reason for doing it, leave the brackets at home.
7. Take a break.
Just logging on every day can make things stale. If
you go away for a bit, it'll make the time you spend
while on more valuable.
8. Have "office hours."
Just like a professor, sometimes people want to find
you, to make sure they catch you while you're online
for whatever reason. You might post a note about when
you'll be on AIM in your journal.
9. Save conversations, but try not to cut and paste.
It's great to recap important stuff that happens in
your LJ. It's cool to sometimes have the actual text,
but it would be even better if you interpreted the
event in your own way! So, clip and save, but remix.
10. If things are working for you, don't change.
If you're happy with your current AIM experience,
ignore 1-9.
