I run a small company. My having a blackberry here is quite unique: blackberry’s in the netherlands are usually owned by suit-wearing managers of big companies, not small time consultants like me.

I can clearly see several advantages though. My berry allows me to receive and send mail from 10 different accounts, of which I use 2. It also has Google Talk, which is turned on when the berry is turned on. And last but not least, there is a cellphone built in.

In daily life, I use the cellphone capabilities less than email and chat. Why? It has to do with the nature of the technology. When the phone rings, it urges you to pickup. When someone sends mail or chats you, there is less pressure on you to respond immediately. In fact, when the received communication is email, you can think about it for a little bit and respond much wiser than you would have if you were on a phone call.

This morning I thought about it again, when I was driving home from my daughters school. A former collegue and (current) friend contacted me through IM with two short questions. I chose not to respond immediately, as I was driving. Instead, I read the questions when I stopped at a red light so I could think about the answer first. After I parked I replied.

This is what I like about IM communication. Especially Gtalk is good here, as it keeps chat history inside gmail, so you can have people send links, tips or other things to it, you can simply ignore and check later at your convenience. Pure communication beauty.