Messenger Stuff

Messenger Plus! Live is the most popular and successful add-on for Windows Live Messenger which has had a long and fruitful history. It is responsible in an indirect way for the start of Messenger Stuff, as it was the Messenger Plus! community that led me to know more about MSN Messenger when I joined it back in February 2005. So I thought I would forward Patchou's somewhat long, yet interesting read into the story of Messenger Plus!

Read the Messenger Plus! Story

Patchou had this to say to his users and supporters within the Messenger community:

Thank you all, one last time, for all the support you've given me for such a long time. It's been a terrific ride and I hope it will continue on the same direction for many years to come. I wrote this text as much for visitors to read it as I wrote it for myself so thank you for your time and take care of yourselves.

Microsoft generates profit on Windows Live Messenger through advertising, duh? So I want to start this post by saying without advertising in Messenger it wouldn't exist and thus they are a necessary evil in order to keep the service free. You probably notice the image advertisement on your contact list and a small text one at the bottom of your conservation window. However, it's the changes to these formats which are causing concern.

Previously we have reported on the content of some advertisments but the worry now is on the obstructive nature of some of these within the contact list and the size of those present in leaked screenshots of Windows Live Messenger 2010 last week. Take the example of the advertisement below (this is the rollover effect):



If the screenshots leaked last week of Windows Live Messenger 10 are indeed real then the situation could get worse:



So what's your opinion of advertising within Windows Live Messenger? Do you patch them out or use skins to mask them up? Do you ever find an advert relevant to your interests? As ever I'm always interested in opinions of users and this post is a response to the concerns I've been hearing the past week.

Earlier this week technology news website Neowin teased they had some information on the upcoming version of Windows Live Messenger 2010. Leaked screenshots have now revealed social networking integration as well as one of the most requested features, tabbed conversations:

Firstly the main Messenger window that contains your contacts has changed somewhat. Included on the left hand side is a "social stream" of updates provided by Windows Live. These are updates from your Messenger contacts and the data is provided by Windows Live. In current public Messenger builds some of this integration is present at the top of a conversation window. Windows Live Messenger aims to add to this by using the "social stream" as a showcase for your contacts updates. Providing your friends have including their Facebook, Twitter and Blog posts into Windows Live then you will see this in the stream.

The screenshots only shed a little light on what may be coming next Spring, but its the first news we've had on new Messenger features for a while.

It is interesting to note user reactions to the screenshots as most opinions have been on the negative side. Most seem to be concerned with the larger advertisements, the "social stream" being obstructive and significantly larger fonts. Nevertheless, this will probably change by the first beta.

>> View the contact list showing the new "social stream" feature
>> Source: Neowin - Windows Live Messenger 2010 revealed