The 'Other' Uses of YM Status Messages

Here in our chaotic office, the omnipresent Yahoo Messenger is more than just communication software. Its custom status message feature is also an all-around, all-purpose bulletin board slash personal blurb slash virtual speech bubble of sorts.

From carefully worded mini-sermons to song lyrics and poetic verses, the status message is used most often to tell the world practically anything that the particular person wants to. Not content with the usual and boring 'Busy' or 'Not at My Desk', the irrepressible resourcefulness of some have made the YM Status Message more than just an update of 'current events'. Even before Twitter, there was YM status message.

Here are some other uses of the YM status message that I have observed over the years.

1. Greeting Card - Is it somebody's birthday today? Did somebody get promoted? Then expect dozens of greetings up on everybody's status messages. This is an easy and no-cost way to greet anyone in the office aside from a direct PM to the person involved. It's become a common practice so much that if you were never greeted on YM status messages ever in your entire existence in our office, you should seriously reflect if you have friends here. Hehe. The YM status message is also an effective tool to coax the celebrator to give a treat to everyone in the office. I guess with more than a handful of very public YM status messages asking for pa-pansit or ice-cream, somebody's going to cave in to that subtle pressure soon. ^_^

2. Instrument of Protest - Is the A/C broken again? Is the salary late again? No more coffee, creamer or sugar at the pantry? Did somebody from the higher-ups shortchange somebody? Then expect righteous indignation, in more than a handful of status messages, aimed with military precision at the powers that be. Sometimes it's amazing how a measly 200+ characters can morph into a concise but venomous missive expressing discontent, disgust and derision over a wide range of office conditions and situations. It takes genius to condense utter hate into a few words. Haha.

3. Advertising Tool - Who needs ad space when there's YM status message? Micro-entrepreneurs in our midst use the custom status message to advertise their products or services, from cell phone E-load to food. It also works the other way around. If you need anything, you can simply pop it into your status message and wait ‘til somebody PMs you about it. Like later, if my cell phone conks out on me again, I'd probably put up 'Sisay tabi may charger?' (Who has a cell phone charger, please?) on my YM. LOL. It’s also a useful online marketing tool for bloggers or anyone who wants to advertise a particular website. Just provide a link and a mysterious, undecipherable message like ‘click me’. Hehe

4. Online Rebuke – This is related to #2 but is usually aimed towards a colleague or a friend rather than at superiors. Anybody who wants to castigate somebody can easily put a message complete with stinging words of rebuke and criticism. Sometimes this evolves into a sort of weird virtual conversation when the other party answers back, still through YM status message. It’s actually quite ridiculous and foolish but what the heck, its part of the craziness that still remarkably keeps us all sane.

5. Multi-purpose bulletin board – Apparently, the YM status message satisfies the need for self-expression. It becomes a multi-purpose tool where anything from jokes, quotes, movie and TV lines, song lyrics, poem verses, foreign phrases, and a whole lot more can be posted. There’s the usual deep and inspirational message (either in English or Tagalog), the occasional ‘woe-is-me’ blurb, and sometimes, the YM status message version of PDA (public display of affection). Sometimes, reading through other people’s YM status messages can be very entertaining and can enlighten you to the deep mysteries of life. Just Kidding.

So there - just five of the other uses of YM status messages. Most are corny, others are downright pathetic, some are ridiculous and laughable, and a few are actually insightful and useful. These status messages are now more than just a feature of YM but have become another medium of self-expression. Meanwhile, I’m off to check if anybody’s got an interesting status message on right now. Haha.