Internet Relay Chat was developed in the late 1980s and is the type of chat that all users are most familiar with. Internet Relay Chat started out with only an estimated twelve users on 38 servers. While instant messaging may have started at a slower pace, it is now one of the most popular online activities in order to make use of Internet and text messages.
History:
The first references to talk to ever take place was indeed in the 1960s. Although the Internet had not been developed yet, there was a real-time chat program that allowed users who were hooked on the same computer to chat with each other. Messages can be sent to two users at a time. The computer users had to know what the address of the computer was, but to send the message.
Internet Relay Chat was created in 1988 by Jarkko "WiZ" Oikarinen. He designed the first instant messaging server, while he worked at the University of Oulu, Finland, in Information Processing Science Department. 
The first chat server name was tolsun.oulu.fi. Jarkko then began to contact other friends to set up servers too. Other college universities soon thereafter began to create their own servers too. Jarkko soon contacted the universities of
Types:
There are different ways to chat in today's world of technology. Many younger Internet users use instant messaging via online tools such as Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, an AOL (American Online), or social networking websites such as MySpace or Facebook. Some users still prefer to chat in a chat room or even on message boards where you can talk to many people at once. Other ways to younger generations has now been chatting on their cell phones.
Occasion:
The participant can have a number of tasks and functions within the individual's personal and business lives. It can be used for entertainment to chat with friends, or even in some rare cases, the movie starts, or the book's authors. Companies will use special networks or instant messengers for workers to communicate with each other. Helpdesk or company staff use IM to talk with customers who have problems with their computers, money, or keep records, and much more. Chat allows for so many useful applications, it is a very important part of communication today.
Warning:
Even instant messaging can be a very useful tool among businesses, schools, family and friends, it can also lead to dangerous situations. Small children should be supervised if they are allowed to chat. Child pornography or predators often log into chat rooms under false identities in order to capture the attention of young Internet users. If not used properly, chatting can be transformed into an easy target to kidnap children and those you love. Also be aware of any conversation in a room trying to retrieve or send unreadable files, which can containerized computer viruses.
Meaning:
IM has become an important need in every day use of the Internet and in this age of technology. Many companies use it as a means of communication with employees in large offices, students use computer labs at universities to see each other on homework, and for many help desk employees are using IM, which is accessible via the front page of most major websites. With instant messaging, communication lines would not be as open as they are now. It allows others to communicate with each other throughout the world. For some it may be even cheaper than picking up the phone.
