Instant Messaging Is Growing Up, Going to Work (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - If you're an avid instant messenger, you probably know what I mean: "Instant messaging doesn't work for me, does it work for you?" Yet I appear to be on the way to becoming a minority, a fuddy-dud resisting the text-chat party. Instant messaging, or IM, is catching on with adults in a big way as it moves rapidly into the workplace, according to recent surveys. In fact, analysts predict IM soon will overtake e-mail as the No. 1 form of electronic communication.