I spend several hours a day with this guy, but I don’t even know his name.

He’s been following me around for several months, possibly longer.

Every day he sits and watches me as I do business, send personal messages to friends and family, and arrange my life.

He is… the gmail video chat advertising guy.

Who is that guy?

More to the point, am I the only one who finds instant messaging in their email client difficult to cope with? The immediacy of the interruption is unparalleled so I tend to keep “chat” turned off, which annoys colleagues. It’s important to get in the zone, and minimizing interruptions seems like an important way to improve my chances.

If you’re a professional programmer, do you still keep IM running all day?