Christian Dreke, Communication Architecture Lab, Intel Corporation Index words: personal communication, buddy list, Internet presence, non real-time and real-time communication
Abstract
This paper focuses on the burgeoning field of Internet Personal Communication Channels/Services. Even though e-mail has been with us for a long time, it is only now with the increasing acceptance of the Internet by a broader spectrum of the population that the true potential of the Internet as a personal communication medium is starting to be explored. The paper discusses a number of existing personal communication channels/services and the applications that utilize them.
Real-time communication channels such as instant messaging, text chat and audio/video streaming and non real-time channels such as e-mail, newsgroups and shared spaces are described with respect to their use in personal communication. Furthermore, personal communication applications such as buddy lists, virtual communities, and others are discussed. Also mentioned are the common problems faced by these applications. And finally, a standards-based solution to solve existing interoperability problems is called for.
More specifically, a class of applications known as buddy lists is discussed. Buddy lists are currently the most popular communication application for real-time personal communication over the Internet. Today's buddy lists do not interoperate. They use proprietary technology to detect when users go online and real-time communication between users is possible. Hence, communication is only possible when all communicating parties use the same buddy list client software; that is, the same fixed and proprietary set of communication channels (e.g., instant messaging, text chat, etc.) is used.
In order to realize a greater degree of innovation in the field of Internet personal communication and to make it easier for existing and new communication channels to gain acceptance and be used ubiquitously, it is necessary to develop a standards-based framework for Internet-based personal communication. Standards necessary to achieve full interoperability of communication applications and tools include Internet-scale standards for publishing, finding, and activating personal communication channels or services, as well as standards for the communication channels themselves.