May 19th is the Open Discussion Day. The idea is to promote open instant messaging protocols over the proprietary and closed ones:

Have you ever imagined what would Internet be without an open email protocol? This is exactly the instant messaging world we are living in. This Friday, May 19, help promote open standards for IM. Don’t use proprietary IM such as AIM, MSN, ICQ and Yahoo. For one day, use only IM with an open protocol such as Google Talk, which uses Jabber.

I strongly believe in Free Software and Open Standards as the building blocks of the information society, and as such embraced the Jabber network when it became relevant and secure enough for me.

Jabber works really well as an instant messaging platform. It can be used openly or in encrypted format, depending on the need. I really recommend getting rid of the proprietary networks and switching to Jabber.

Updated 19:56Z: Before anyone accuses me of hypocrisy, I have to admit that I’m a Skype user even though it is a proprietary and closed network. For now there are unfortunately no adequate open alternatives, although some might be coming.

Updated 2006-05-23: Gizmo Project’s VoIP client follows the open SIP standard and still allows calling in and out with regular landline numbers. Once they have CallIn numbers to Finland it could become a real Skype contender. And Nokia 770 support is definitely a bonus:

The upgraded Internet Tablet software platform can also support SIP based VoIP solutions for broadband business benefit. Standalone software applications, like the popular Gizmo Project by SIPPhone Inc, is planned to be available for the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. The Gizmo Project has a rich feature set including the capability to make and receive calls from public telephony networks.

Updated 2006-05-28: IM federation is a site promoting interconnected IM networks and open standards.