Gmail Chat (Google Talk) Now Compatible with AOL Instant Messenger

From the Official Google Blog:

We’ve been working with AOL on ways to let our users talk to their buddies on the AIM network, and I’m delighted to announce that the fruits of that labor are live. Starting today, Gmail users can sign into their AIM accounts via Gmail chat and talk with AIM buddies just as they do with their Google Talk friends. Best of all, the features you love most about Gmail chat, such as chat history and automatic sorting of your buddies based on frequency of communication, work seamlessly across your Google and AIM buddies.

I love to see common standards and different services working together. Let’s hope we see more collaboration like this!

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Map of Online Communities

XKCD, a webcomic, recently featured this map of online communities.

See full-size image. XKCD webcomic. Used with permission.

This “map” is deceptively simple, but a surprising amount of information is packed into it, and this ability to convey such information in such an easily grasped format is what makes it so effective. I’d like to think this weblog is somewhere near the eastern edge of the “Blogipeligo.”

2006 Weblog Awards

Today is the last day to vote in the 2006 Weblog Awards. There are 45 categories; Flash is required to vote. Several very good candidates are up for Best Science Blog; I’ve mentioned at least three on this weblog already, and I encourage you to take a look at all of them. But the one I read most often, and the one I’ve voted for, is Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy, and he’s got quite a rivalry going with P. Z. Myers’ Pharyngula. Mr. Plait has asked webloggers to help him out by encouraging people to vote for him, so consider yourself so encouraged. Also, you may wish to peruse the other finalists for an introduction to some of the other excellent weblogs out there. The voting closes today at midnight Eastern time (0500 UTC 16 Dec, I believe).