Trillian and Responsible Advertising
I started to write this as a comment to my AIM post, but quickly decided it was too long for a comment, and better as a post.
I used Trillian in the days before working on Yahoo! Messenger. I mainly used it as a way to keep multiple IRC sessions open (hi to the folks from #flashhelp, #flash, and #actionscript on efnet 
). I thought the app was clunky, but then again, this was four years ago. I was also leery of putting my user ID and password into a third party application (as should you all). This is your ID and password for all of the Yahoo! network. Do you really trust Trillian with that? After all they do decompile peoples code and post it online (I don’t like it in the flash world, and I like it no better in the desktop client world).
I mainly had AIM installed as a keeping an eye on the competitors sort of thing. I’ve never liked AIM, and have never understood how it was seen as the “cool” IM client by teens. It is ugly, inflexible and has some of the worst tactics for advertising I have seen short of spyware.
As for the criticism about IM applications having advertising in them at all, please keep in mind that these are free applications. The placement of responsible advertising funds the development of neat features, and often can add value just on its own. Trillian may not have ads, but they are also pirating the IM networks rather than developing their own. When they chose to go it alone and not leach off the work of others, I will think of them as a suitable client for comparison.
As for advertising, having worked on an advertising element of Messenger (IMVironments), I don’t mind ads. As Wenda Millard, out Chief Sales Officer would say People hate BAD advertising. People like good advertising. To see the truth of that, hang out at the water cooler the day after the Superbowl.
Yahoo! Messenger Ads are actually really responsible and are done in a way that engages our users. IMVs are opt-in for our users, and add functionality like whiteboarding, games, photosharing, sports real-time feeds, and trailers for upcoming movies and albums. And that is just to mention a few. The ads are responsible and engaging enough that new IMVs are actually viral in their usage.
Doodle users: There is an easter egg in Doodle that gives you a crayon with a full color picker. the picture above has a clue with it on how to access it. (think goonies skeleton organ, except there is no falling to your death!).
Digg this!
September 16th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
I use Gaim and used to use Trillian. If I could convince my entire family to use a specific IM service (and all of my friends) OR if the primary IM service providers allowed for interoperability I would probably use one of their clients.
As it stand now though I want to stay in touch with my family/friends but don’t want to have four applications running to do it.
At the same time, when I’m IMing someone I just want to IM. I don’t to draw, check my email, share photos, etc.. etc.. If the big IM clients out there let you “remove” some of these fluff modules (this way it comes with all that functionality for those that want it, but you aren’t stuck with it) then I would be more willing to have four or five IM apps installed.
Where is the ICQ client of 1995? :O)
September 16th, 2005 at 12:55 pm
I was actually going to recommend Trillian in your former post, but see you already knew about it.
To me, Trillian isn’t about being an IM client; it’s about allowing me to run 1 vs. 3, and still be connected to everyone.
September 16th, 2005 at 2:14 pm
Bill, The IMVs are completely modular. They are roughly 200K of file space on your machine, but they don’t install until you try to load the IMV. If you decide that you want to get back that space on your hard drive, feel free to delete the files in C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\imvcache
September 16th, 2005 at 6:31 pm
Justin
It was the IMVs that I was talking about specifically. I definitely don’t see the point in those. I think they would just make reading the messages harder at times.
My issue with most of the IM clients out there are that they do so much more than just IM now-a-days. And If I have to have four (aim,jabber,msn,and yahoo) so that I’m not using a client that is “leaching” off of the work for others I would prefer to have four very lightweight clients.
That is why I use GAIM. I could care less about the presence of advertising. I just dont want four apps each using 5+MB of resources at a time when I can use one that uses roughly 7MB.
I wouldn’t mind downloading, and installing the bigger bloated IM clients – if I could then choose to remove modules from them that did things that don’t relate directly to chat.
Then, if, in the future, I decided I did want to use some of those features, I could just re-add them as I needed them.
This way the avg user still gets the whole kit-and-kaboodle at one time. But those who want to trim the fat can at their leisure. Sort of an opt-out of extra features capability.
Until that happens, or I can’t use an external app that bridges the divide amongst my family/friends I will probably not use a proprietary IM client again. Of course, I am probably in the minority of the IM using public.
September 17th, 2005 at 3:52 am
Reagrding the “pirating of other’s networks”, I think that networks that do not interact with each other would have been the worst thing that had happened to IM, but I think it is quite worse the fact that some have come to a point to accept that and defend that.
I do not think anyone sees any logic in having four telephone terminals so that all your friends can contact you.
I can’t see the day when Google Talk goes out of beta and other Jabber servers, ISP based, just as with POP and SMTP, that also go through an open network that allows us all to reach each other without having to worry who you signed up with.
No AIM for me. No Yahoo Messenger for me, either. And it has nothing to do with the advertising.
September 18th, 2005 at 6:08 am
Bill,
That is exactly the same reason for using Trillian as well. I don’t want to have 4 separate programs installed and running when I can have one integrated piece of software. I have friend on multiple networks, so I want to have a piece of software that gives me a nice integrated environment for communicating across all 4 IM networks.
Now, with Skype, I have had to install a 2nd communication client. It’d be nice if I could use the Skype client with the Yahoo, AOL, MSN and ICQ IM networks! That would be the sweet spot!
Cheers
Niklas
October 8th, 2005 at 6:20 pm
While most of the IMVironments are really a pain, Doodle is tremendously helpful to me. I teach an online math class (trig) and am able to help students online just as if I was in the same room with them. However, in the past few days the Doodle IMVironment has stopped loading. It just sits there saying “waiting for fried to load doodle” … and it says this on BOTH ends. I have tried it on several computers with different operating systems with the same result. Last year there was a message that said “Doodle has Expired” or something similar. Soon, though, I guess yahoo paid the bill and got it back up and running. Is this the same type of thing? Without Doodle, yahoo is just another messenger program!
July 23rd, 2006 at 8:59 pm
Do you think you could give me another hint as to finding the custom crayon? I’m just dying to find it and so are my friends but sadly, I’ve never seen The Goonies.
December 13th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
I am so glad I found this post. I stumbled across the custom crayon about a year ago and I loved it. But now it is gone. I just finished writing Yahoo and asking them to put it back in. Is it really that important? Yes. Yes it is.
Stephen