meebo

For those of you who aren't in the know (like myself, sometimes), meebo is cool. Please note the lack of sarcasm there. meebo is actually very very cool.
meebo let's you log into your favorite IM (Instant Messenger) client through your internet browser. It's really useful if you're going online from a public computer or, like me, you want to get on AIM at work but can't download the app.
Load up meebo.com and get treated to a wonderfully simple (maybe even elegantly so) home screen. You have the ability to sign on to one (or all) of the big four IM clients (AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, and Google Talk) with an option to sign on as invisible. Don't worry, ICQ and Jabber-heads. If you click the "more networks" link you'll be relieved. There's even a fifth option to sign on to meebo's proprietary IM client as well.

There's a "rooms" feature on the home page too. "meebo rooms" are chat rooms based on interests. You can even create your own room and get supplied with the code to embed it wherever you want. There's even an option that allows you to include a video player in said room so that you can throw in a link to your favorite YouTube video and share it with the group. I couldn't get it to load up on my personal blog, but WordPress has been a little wonky today. Throwing the code into the MySpace (which hasn't been touched in months) worked just fine. In fact, it worked perfectly.

The third big thing is meebome (meebo me). This one allows you to create an IM widget to place on your page or blog. Once you embed the code just log in to meebo and see who's trying to chat with you through your site.

It's so simple! Whenever I review a product, a key feature is ease of use. A great product is totally nerfed if it takes you 3 weeks and a masters' degree in the black arts to get it set up. The first time I visited the site I could figure out in about 2 seconds (I was sleepy) how to get logged in to my IM of choice. meebome and rooms took a sec, but if you follow the steps you'll catch on and be ready to embed your room or widget in just a couple of minutes.

I think that meebo is a great site/product/service and it's no wonder to me why CNNMoney picked them as a 2007 Startup to Watch. I certainly will.

Check out meebo.com for the full scoop. Don't forget to check out the blog and go meebo - where you can view and upload videos about meebo.