In January 2009, About.com asked readers to nominate their favorite IM clients in eight categories: Best IM Experience, Best Third-Party IM, Best Mac IM, Most Improved IM, Best IM Feature, Best Chat Rooms, Best IM Design (GUI) and Developer(s) of the Year.
After more than 500 nominations from users around the globe, 13 IM clients were named nominees of the second annual Best IM Awards reader's survey.
From Feb. 15 through March 15, 2009, voters participated in the unscientific survey, with voters selecting nominees via online ballot on our web site.
After more than 160,339 votes cast, we are proud to present this year's winners of the 2009 Best IM Awards--the best, brightest and most efficient clients of the year! Read on to reveal this year's winners!
