Honey Bee Buzz Marketing Blog

fring- talk, chat and interact with Skype®, MSN Messenger®, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Facebook, Yahoo!™ and AIM®

I have another really interesting tech helper to tell you about:   fring- talk, chat and interact with Skype®, MSN Messenger®, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Facebook, Yahoo!™ and AIM®.

It’s a very cool Meebo-like grouping of messenging tools, a way of doing Google’s chat while you’re on your mobile phone.  “Interact via all your social networks directly from one, combined buddy list & profile!“  Much cheaper than texting, unless you have unlimited texting.  It seems to have a low-key but pretty serious glitch, though, the kind of glitch that breaks up relationships and business deals, so here’s  your heads-up: if one person sends a text while the other person is logging out, the text looks to the sender like it was sent, but it gets received as being fresh and new the next time the receiver logs in to fring.  In theory, sounds like no big deal, but just imagine saying “I love you” for the first time and your beloved doesn’t answer.  When they get it the next day, they think you are too wimpy to say it “to their face.”  Or, in a business scenario, imagine you change your order for your shoe store from 500 pairs of Manolo Blancos to 100.  Your vendor gets it the next day and thinks “Super! 100 more sold …. 600 on their way out the door!”  That’s an extra 500 shoes you didn’t want to pay for and may very well not have storage for, either!  Big sale on Manolo’s coming up!

Here’s a transcript of the Google Talk between my sister and I.  Ironically, yesterday I had texted her asking how she liked using fring, but I hadn’t heard back from her:

1:28 PM me: hi!

Sister: hi heath!

1:29 PM me: I noticed (yesterday?) that you were using fring for a moment — how did you like it?

Sister: it’s ok, sometimes not sure it works

1:30 PM me: did you by any chance get my chat yesterday?

Sister: did I not respond?

I don’t remember getting anything from you yesterday

I would’ve responded

odd

1:31 PM me: I guess fring isn’t always working

I saw the little notice that you were using fring in your google chat box, thought it was a cool idea, and asked how you liked it, but you didn’t answer

Sister: did you send it when i was on fring?

me: I figured you were busy…

(yes)

Sister: hmm, don’t remember seeing it.

1:32 PM sorry about that!

me: that’s ok

mystery solved

1:34 PM Sister: I’m glad you checked, I hate when I think someone just ignored my message. love you lots!

me: Love you too!!!

9 minutes

1:43 PM Sister: update:

that’s really weird–I just logged onto fring to see if I’d gotten a message from you.

1:44 PM I hadn’t and then one just came through saying it was sent right this second, but it sounds like what you said you sent yesterday

I wonder if you sent it yesterday right as I was closing out of it?

odd, that’s the shit I don’t like about fring

1:45 PM I guess it’s OK if 2 people are planning to talk but it’s not 100% reliable otherwise

me: hmmm

1:46 PM interesting

good to know

I am in the process of blogging about fring, so good to know

1:47 PM Sister: cool

me: that is kind of a glitch, some relationship things could go sour over that kind of stuff….

1:48 PM Sister: exactly!

me: so, don’t have any serious conversations with out doing the walkietalkie over-and-out routine, but otherwise, seems good to you?

Sister: even gmail chat occasionally drops stuff

cheaper than texting

me: yup!