How to Use Facebook as Your Instant Messenger with AIM
Back in the day, lots of folks relied on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) for their instant messaging needs. But as time went on, social networking, especially Facebook, took over and AIM fell out of favor.
But here’s the cool thing: you can still use a traditional instant messenger, like AIM, just like the old days.
Now, your first thought might be, “I don’t want everyone on my Facebook friend list being able to IM me.” But don’t worry! You have control over who can message you on Facebook through your Friend Lists. Once you set that up, AIM will automatically recognize those groups, and you’re good to go.
Step 1: Set Up Your Facebook Friend Lists
To get started, log into Facebook and click on “Account” at the top right. Then, select “Edit Friends.”
Step 2. Time to Make a List
Step 3. Make a New List, Fill it Up, and Save
Here’s what you do: I’m going to make a list named IM. After I type that in, I select every friend I want to be able to message me directly through instant messaging. When I’m finished, I’ll click on “Create List” at the bottom.
Step 4. Make your list “Online” and others “Offline”
This is the part where things tend to get confusing, but it’s actually quite simple to set up.
You can have multiple lists, and you can assign multiple people to each list. To make a list visible and able to chat with you, just click the little pill-shaped button next to the list. It will turn green, which means it’s enabled. If you click again, it will turn gray and become disabled.
If you’re still having trouble understanding, think of it as “visible” and “invisible” lists. Any list that’s green is visible, and any list that’s gray is invisible.
Step 5. Get AIM, install it, and log in with your Facebook account
Go to www.aim.com to download AIM and then install it.
I need to emphasize one point here, so let me make it clear: you do not need an AIM account to use AIM for chatting with your Facebook friends
Once you’ve installed AIM and run it for the first time, you’ll be asked to log in with either your AIM or Facebook account. Just use your Facebook account to log in.
A few screens will appear asking you to give AIM permission to access your Facebook. Just follow the steps, and AIM will log in to your Facebook account and show you your friend lists.
By default, AIM will display all your friend lists, but you will only be able to chat with the lists you’ve enabled on Facebook.
Notes
Can I use the Facebook.com site and AIM at the same time?
Yes, you can use both at the same time. They won’t interfere with each other. If you have multiple devices and computers in your house, you can be logged in to AIM on all of them (one browser and client for each computer) and it will work just fine.
It’s also important to know that any message you send from any client or logged-in browser will instantly appear in the conversation history. For example, if you’re using AIM on one computer and then switch to another computer upstairs, the conversation will continue seamlessly and everything will sync up.
Are messages stored in the unified messaging center?
Yes, messages sent to someone who’s not online will be sent as a unified message. The same applies if someone tries to message you when you’re not online. (And yes, it’s pretty handy!)
Can I use AIM to update my Facebook status?
Yes, you can update your status on Facebook using AIM. You can also reply to people on your friend list through the “Lifestream” tab, which you’ll see after logging into Facebook with AIM.
I don’t like AIM. What are my other options?
There are several other instant messaging clients that support Facebook, such as Yahoo! Instant Messenger, Pidgin, Digsby, and Trillian. You can choose the one that works best for you, or simply use your web browser.