• by August 24, 2004

AOL's got a decent thing going with its instant messaging client, otherwise known as AIM. AOL racks up some 30 million unique users per month and it's trying to find a way to generate revenue against all those eyeballs.

To date, I've noticed a few ads on AIM--the University of Phoenix (a very aggressive online advertiser), tune-in promos for WB shows, and AOL house ads. It's an understatement to say that AOL could do a lot more with this on AIM.

Today, the company released the results of a study on instant messaging. AOL conducted the study that extended to all IM usage, beyond just AOL IM, AIM, or ICQ. The study surveyed 4,500 respondents in the top 20 U.S. markets. AOL's second annual IM survey queried people ages 13 and up. It was conducted in partnership with Opinion Research Corporation from June 7 through 17 and July 26 through 28, 2004. Here are a few of the findings:

Fifty-nine percent of Internet users use IM, while 29 percent of IM users send as many, if not more, IMs as they do e-mails. Ninety percent of 13- to 21-year-olds use IM, while 48 percent of people 55 and over use IM.

Twenty-seven percent of all IM users say they use IM in the workplace--a 71 percent increase over last year; 43 percent of employed IM users say they use desktop IM to communicate quickly in the workplace.

Nineteen percent of IM users send IMs or text messages from mobile phones and personal digital assistants, versus 10 percent who did so last year. Thirty-two percent of these mobile messengers say they stay in touch with co-workers via mobile IM or text messages while on business travel.

The majority of those surveyed send IMs to keep in touch with family or friends (90 percent). Others use IM to share photos (28 percent), set up weekend or evening activities (22 percent), play games (14 percent), and get to know dates better (11 percent).

AOL also recognized the top 10 cities for IM usage. They are:

1. New York, NY
2. Miami, FL
3. Chicago, IL
4. Philadelphia, PA
5. Orlando, FL
6. Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
7. Atlanta, GA
8. Washington, D.C.
9. Los Angeles, CA
10. Houston, TX

Not surprisingly, the survey found that having high-speed Internet access boosts the amount of time spent on IM. In fact, the survey found that more than seven out of 10 (71 percent) respondents access the Web at home using a high-speed connection.

According to Osterman Research, 24 million IM users in the U.S. log on from work, and 58 percent (nearly 14 million) use the AIM service.

Now for a finding that I can readily attest to: The majority of IM users send instant messages while at work to communicate with colleagues, while 63 percent say they send IMs to get answers and make business decisions, and 34 percent say they use instant messaging to interact with clients or customers. We use IM here at MediaPost to get quick answers to niggling little questions, or to check the status of a story or newsletter.