Facebook chat coming to Google Talk and iChat soon

Posted on 6 Nov 2009 at 12:25

Facebook looks ready to roll out its connection interface to the XMPP protocol, an open, XML-based protocol that drives the popular Jabber instant messaging (IM) client as well as Google's Talk service and Apple's iChat IM client. This would bring Facebook chat to users of iChat and Google Talk, so you could see your Google contacts as well as your Facebook contacts in one interface, for example. It would also bring extended features such as status updates and profile photos.

According to Mickael Remond, CEO and founder of instant messaging company ProcessOne, "This is huge news for XMPP because it consolidates the protocol as the de-facto open standard for Instant Messaging and Presence." Facebook posted its intentions to add an XMPP interface as long ago as May last year, but Remond said that his company's software bot had recently noticed that the XMPP software stack has been deployed on chat.facebook.com.

You can already use Facebook chat in some third party IM aggregators, such as Digsby and Meebo, but an XMPP gateway would mean any XMPP-capable client could be configured to add Facebook contacts as well, including mobile clients.

Author: Barry de la Rosa

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