Initial Reactions to Google Talk

Here's a few of my first thoughts about the new Google Talk IM client:

• Can't send files. So this would not work for business folks that need to regularly swap files, and so they will probably stick to using Skype or Yahoo until Google fixes this.
• Need Gmail. I can't really get started chatting until all the invites I sent out are answered and people sign up for a Gmail account. I have a whopping one person in my address list that I can chat with right now, and he's on vacation.
• Not blowing me away. There's nothing here that I don't already have with Yahoo. In fact, right now Yahoo is far superior because I have a whole bunch of people I can talk with without waiting for a Gmail deal.
• No search. What's this? Google, a search engine, does not offer a search feature within Google Talk? I must not be seeing it. Surely, this is just an oversight. Or perhaps Google is no longer the streamlined search-based machine that they've billed themselves to be. I think that the Google ID badges are probably a good indicator of their new priorities.
• No emoticons. This might sound petty, but I love me some emoticons. They're fun.
• Doesn't save chat history. This one is HUGE for me. I conduct interviews quite often using IM and I don't want to have to save every minute or so.

That's my initial reaction. It's a nice, clean, small application, but I'm not blown away. Yet. I'm sure that Google is probably making notes of how this is being received in the Web community and will be making improvements soon. It's still in beta, after all.

Related: IM isn't the only way you can connect online. Searching for Discussion Groups and Message Boards will help you find people to talk to without downloading anything.