Instant messaging has become a huge part of the way we communicate online. In fact, it’s starting to give email a run for its money, because nowadays, people are creating an email just so they can use an IM service. However, new programs that combine all of the major services are being designed and released everyday, and they make learning and using instant messengers so much easier. Today, I’ll be reviewing one of the first services that integrated multiple IM services, Meebo

Meebo was founded in 2005 and its investors include Investors include Sequoia Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, JAFCO Ventures, Time Warner Investments, and KTB Ventures, which allows the website to be advertisement-free. With Meebo, users can communicate across many IM platforms, including AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, MySpace IM, Facebook Chat, and many more. Plus, by creating one account, you can sign into four services at once, which eliminates the need to create multiple email accounts for those who have friends using both AIM and MSN, etc. Plus, there’s absolutely no software needed, and thanks to Meebo’s investors, the service is completely free.

So, with all of these features, Meebo must sound like a perfect website, right? Well, the truth is, like many websites, there are flaws to it. Like most programs or websites that allow users to use multiple IM services simultaneously, Meebo does not currently support Skype, which is likely because of how much data their servers would have to process, which is a lot more than members may think. Plus, there are occasional issues with accounts timing out when attempting to sign in, but most of the time, you’ll never have a problem with the service.

We think it’s safe to say that any free service that offers IM, video/audio chat, and multiple IM services is definitely worth using, whether you use instant messaging regularly or are just starting to get used to it. Meebo is one of the simplest and most useful IM websites there is, and we have almost nothing negative to say about it.