There’s a new workplace behavior spreading across the nation in white collar offices everywhere.  You’ll hear furious typing, followed by someone laughing out loud.  What’s happening is that someone has just read a funny comment sent to them on their Instant Messenger system.  It’s the next thing we will have to get used to, much like when someone is wearing a Bluetooth headset and they look like they’re talking to themselves if you can’t see the headset.  Now, with random people laughing out loud, (excuse me, LOL or ROTFLMAO), it can seem your coworker is loco until you realize they’re IM’ing someone.

I am just as guilty as the next in terms of sometimes sending an IM to the person in the cube next to you.  This allows you to not bother others and still be able to write things you wouldn’t want overheard.  It is a sign of the times when the speed of an email just isn’t fast enough.  For someone impatient like me, it’s a godsend.  On the flip side, typing habits can go down the toilet as you’re trying to type at the speed of your thoughts.  Punctuation goes out the window and spelling mishaps can wind up being quite funny.

As with email though, you still need to be careful what you type.  I’m waiting for someone to copy an IM conversation to others and have it be damaging to one’s friendship.  Unfiltered thoughts sometimes aren’t the best things to type and it’s just as traceable as an email.

So, what should we call this spontaneous laughter that is book ended by surrounding silence?  Imlaughs?  Imlols?  Instant Laughing?