Digsby is my Favorite Instant Messenger
That’s right. Move over Meebo. Move over Yahoo Messenger, GTalk.
Digsby on the covers will look like one of the dozen multi-protocol Instant Messenger clients out there. But, this is by far the best integration I have seen among them. I am not just going to say that but actually tell you why. Garry Conn asked me on Twitter why I liked it so much and here you go, Garry!
Digsby integrates not just your IM accounts but also your email accounts and your social network accounts like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
Digsby Features
Instant messenger Features
- Support for multiple IM networks. Nothing new here. It supports Google, Yahoo, MSN, AIM, ICQ and Jabber.
- Tabbed conversations. You can chat with multiple buddies with just one window.
- If your buddy is on multiple IMs, you can merge their accounts into one in Digsby.
- Your buddy has a weird number in his/her name? Give him an alias.
- This is the best part. You can have Digsby minimized but new messages will popup and you can reply from within the popup and get back to what you were doing!
- Setup various alerts for individual buddies like a sound and/or a popup when a friend logs in or logs out.
- Video/Audio chat using TokBox
(picture credit: digsby.com)
Email Features
- Supports Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, AOL/AIM Mail, IMAP and POP accounts
- On login, a InfoBox popup shows you new email messages and you can scroll within the popup to see all messages.
- A taskbar icon for the email account showing unread messages.
- Clicking on the icon, popups a box with latest message and you can Mark as read, delete, archive messages without ever opening up the browser. You could also go to the Inbox or the Compose screen right from here.
- You can send email directly from your Digsby Contact List from the IM window.
Social Network
- Get Facebook/MySpace news feed and updates on Digsby
- Best Twitter integration I have experienced so far - Timeline view, replies, direct messages. Plus, every contact looks just like the twitter web interface with the Favorite star, a reply icon, etc.
- Update your status easily and new Tweets popup (configurable) in a nice little window.
- Support for more networks coming soon.
Digsby has many more features to list here. And did I say it looks gorgeous with capital G in Vista?
Sometimes, applications gets overloaded with features and casual users will get lost. Not with Digsby. Every feature has been implemented very naturally and probably better than the app maker themselves in certain instances. Personalization options are another option you have to see it to appreciate it. Just the whole look and feel is very user friendly.
Download Digsby
With this software in beta, I haven’t had it crash even once in the last 2 days of full use. I installed it for my wife and she is in love with it too. I know I am writing this with rose-colored glasses but I haven’t found a single thing to complain about. But, again I have used it only for a couple of days and this is more like my first impressions and I have been known in the past to change my allegiance. 
Nevertheless, this is a great piece of software that’s availabel for free. If you are a Mac/Linux user though, you’ll have to wait a little longer but they promise to have one for us nerds soon.
Update: 6/26
After using it for 3 months, Digsby still rocks my world with its user friendly features. I love the ability to delete my emails right from the Gmail notification window and keeping just the emails I want to read when I open my inbox. At build 30, it even integrates Facebook chat nicely but I am still waiting on their promised Linux version. Patiently. 
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Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Wow, that is an awesome looking program. I’ve thought about something like this for a while. Sure Pidgin / GAIM are great but there is no integration with any Social Networking sites. As a Linux user I’m going to have to see if it runs under wine
I’ll blog about it if it works.
- Owen.
Owen’s last blog post..Linksys NSLU2 - A Great Linux Box
March 24th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I must say I am impressed with Digsby, I downloaded and installed it after reading this and I must say it definitely reduces a lot of problems and will definitely be one of the best IM client for me too
Keith Dsouza’s last blog post..Pathetic Web Hosting Services In Us and Canada
March 24th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Thanks for sharing this to us! I haven’t try using Digsby so far. I’m quiet interested to give a try for this new program. Interesting features!
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March 25th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Owen.. I checked out your blog and will keep an eye on it to see if you can run it in wine. I’d be very interested, if you could do it.
Keith, glad to see you agree with me. I was a little hesitant to go all out and say it is my favorite when there are a dozen alternatives out there! But, the more I use it the more I love it. It has to be teh next best thing for me after Enso.
Martin, you are absolutely welcome. If I love something and start using it my readers will be the first to know. Let me know how you like it.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I have Digsby installed and I really don’t have any complaints. The only thing I have a problem with is that the list of messenger protocols is a bit small in comparison to Pidgin.
Which is why I use Pidgin instead of Digsby. When Digsby adds stuff like IRC support, then I’ll make the full switch.
March 26th, 2008 at 3:15 am
Hey thx for sharing this cool IM. I have tried this and have been using this ever since then. Got rid of all the clutter.
Nishit’s last blog post..If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?
March 26th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Hey Darian, thanks for taking the time to comment! Pidgin is cool and I’ll continue to use it in Linux until Digsby comes out with a Linux version. I was able to install it and run it with Wine but the proxy setting won’t work for me so I can’t get out with it.
Nishit.. you are very welcome! Getting rid of the clutter is right. Thanks for the comment and welcome to ShanKri-la!
K-IntheHouse’s last blog post..Digsby is my Favorite Instant Messenger
March 27th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Digsby is pretty decent one, the problem I faced is the connection to Gtalk, its not connecting properly for me.
Nirmal’s last blog post..Technology Advancement: 1GB Now and 20 Year Ago
March 30th, 2008 at 7:09 am
looking like a good handy all in one messenger it includes gtalk thats a good thing to add in these days when gtalk is taking every one, i’ll sure give it a try
April 6th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
K, I’m not into instant messaging (I can’t get any work done as it is!), but this looks like a great option for those who do.
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April 10th, 2008 at 6:37 am
this is cool im……..
April 25th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Digsby has lots of privacy concerns, someone hacks your diggsby account, they instantly gain access to all messengers and social networking sites registered with it.
It’s one problem among many with Digsby, it may yet come to form and be a useful IM, but, as long as it’s required that you store information on the Digsby server it will not be a client I use.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I’ve never heard of such a program either - I really value any software that can greatly simplify my work and it looks like I’ve found another. This one seems to top even microsoft outlook. I’m hoping more programs like this will come into play and that software will become simpler and more powerful
July 1st, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Trillian is much better than this poor comparison. It does everything Digsby does and more. With the new Trillian Astra coming out soon, Digsby shouldn’t even be allowed in the same paragraph. Check it out at http://www.ceruleanstudios.com