Some Tips on Using Facebook Chat
Facebook is slowly proving itself to be one of the most popular online social networks these days. With its creation, the concept of joining a social network was not limited to the young, trendy crowd any more. Nowadays, entire extended families have gone online through this network, allowing for a level of connectivity that has not been matched by any online social network so far. It follows, then, that all these people will want to find a way to be able to communicate through this very popular network. Hence the creation of Facebook Chat.
People who have been involved in online social lives in the past few years or so, before Facebook was launched, may remember the then unmatched popularity of such early chat based applications as Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger or even AOL Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. Now it appears that Facebook Chat has taken this coveted spot, with around a billion messages being sent between members every day.
.
Albeit popular, Facebook Chat does have some faults, most notably the lack of some features that are usually standard for a chat application such as email notifications upon signing in and the option to view your chat history. This is understandable, given the relative simplicity and the lack of a need to install anything, but it may be a hindrance for some people. Hence this article, which is meant to teach you how to utilize other software in order to have a Facebook Chat experience that you can customize into a truly unique one.
There are many instant messenger programs that one can customize for use with Facebook Chat. Here are some notable ones:
Meebo – This is a browser based chat messenger that allows you to log into several messaging networks at once, including Facebook chatting. This allows you to log into your messaging networks while using a computer that does not have their respective applications installed. It is, however, not as compatible with Facebook as it is with other messaging programs, which is most seen in the fact that Facebook users are not able to see emoticons sent through Meebo.
Pidgin – This is an instant messaging service that may be modified for use with Facebook Chat with the use of a third party plugin or two. A popular messaging program, Pidgin will allow you to chat with multiple Facebook users on the same interface. Despite these, it has also been reported to suffer from connection problems and a few issues regarding the formatting of messages sent through Facebook. However, it has one special advantage: Pidgin allows you to add a proxy in order to bypass Facebook blocking, just in case you need your computer to be connected.
Adium – This messenger application is specifically designed to give Mac users the opportunity to get connected in the Microsoft dominated world of compatibility. It is compatible with not only Facebook Chat, but also Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger and many more.
