Who remembers the days of ICQ, AIM, and MSN messenger? As a user, I chose these chat products because they each had unique features. As the years went by, and saturation became an issue, I decided to devote my time to only one IM: MSN Messenger.

Now, before you go ahead and start pointing the Microsoft fingers, let me tell you why I preferred MSN Messenger above the others. I had more contacts on MSN Messenger than on ICQ or AIM, and most users had a Hotmail e-mail account than an AOL e-mail account. More contacts = easier to keep in touch with people. Besides, most of my friends on AIM already had a presence on MSN Messenger.

This is where Facebook put their thinking caps on.

After spending time growing their number of users (not sure how far the gap is between FB & MySpace, but FB has grown exponentially since opening its doors to the public), Facebook not only began creating monetizing steps but also focusing on ways to make their interface “sticky”. Monetization is fine, I mean, all businesses need to make their money somehow, right? Both MySpace and Facebook blast ads because someone needs to bring home the bacon. But how about making their site sticky enough that users cannot live without their preferred social networking site? How about maintaining or building loyalty among users they already have?

MySpace was a good start, but I’m not sure they were thinking long term. The one unique feature that I can commend is the Music section, where musicians can upload and digitalize their PR efforts. However, all new features have been practically jipped from Facebook.

I’ll finally get to the heart of the matter. Facebook IM…

What better way to engage users and keep them entertained than creating a new and easy way to communicate with no effort whatsoever? The main reason I ditched past IM products was because I had more friends on one platform than the other. With Facebook’s network on the rise, the launch of IM is an innovate way to provide something fresh without making it complicated. When I first logged onto Facebook IM, I was relieved I didn’t have to go through the process of “adding friends” – which previously had been a complete waste of time.

Shirky mentions: “Revolution doesn’t happen when society adopts new technologies–it happens when society adopts new behaviors.” I have a feeling that Facebook IM will become a new behavior in the social media world. The technology has already been released, it’s just a matter of time before it becomes a norm.