We're trying to get an idea of how large typical IM buddy lists are, so we can understand some scalability issues. One of my bosses asked me to ask some of my contacts how big their buddy lists are, so hey -- I might as well do it this way. So here's a short poll. If you use one or more instant-messaging systems, please respond to the relevant questions. Round all answers to the nearest option; leave it as 0 if you don't use that system. Thanks!
If you use AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), how many people are on your buddy list in it?
Mean: 30.22 Median: 25 Std. Dev 27.17
0(0.0%)
0
2(8.7%)
5
4(17.4%)
10
1(4.3%)
15
2(8.7%)
20
2(8.7%)
25
2(8.7%)
30
2(8.7%)
35
2(8.7%)
40
1(4.3%)
45
0(0.0%)
50
0(0.0%)
55
1(4.3%)
60
1(4.3%)
65
0(0.0%)
70
0(0.0%)
75
0(0.0%)
80
2(8.7%)
85
0(0.0%)
90
0(0.0%)
95
0(0.0%)
100
1(4.3%)
If you use MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger, how many people are on your buddy list in it?
Mean: 7.19 Median: 2.5 Std. Dev 16.58
0(0.0%)
0
8(50.0%)
5
5(31.2%)
10
2(12.5%)
15
0(0.0%)
20
0(0.0%)
25
0(0.0%)
30
0(0.0%)
35
0(0.0%)
40
0(0.0%)
45
0(0.0%)
50
0(0.0%)
55
0(0.0%)
60
0(0.0%)
65
0(0.0%)
70
1(6.2%)
75
0(0.0%)
80
0(0.0%)
85
0(0.0%)
90
0(0.0%)
95
0(0.0%)
100
0(0.0%)
If you use Yahoo Messenger, how many people are on your buddy list in it?
Mean: 5.67 Median: 0 Std. Dev 9.98
0(0.0%)
0
8(53.3%)
5
5(33.3%)
10
0(0.0%)
15
0(0.0%)
20
0(0.0%)
25
1(6.7%)
30
0(0.0%)
35
1(6.7%)
40
0(0.0%)
45
0(0.0%)
50
0(0.0%)
55
0(0.0%)
60
0(0.0%)
65
0(0.0%)
70
0(0.0%)
75
0(0.0%)
80
0(0.0%)
85
0(0.0%)
90
0(0.0%)
95
0(0.0%)
100
0(0.0%)
If you use Lotus Sametime (or whatever IBM is calling it this week), how many people are on your buddy list in it?
Mean: 0.00 Median: 0 Std. Dev 0.00
0(0.0%)
0
10(100.0%)
5
0(0.0%)
10
0(0.0%)
15
0(0.0%)
20
0(0.0%)
25
0(0.0%)
30
0(0.0%)
35
0(0.0%)
40
0(0.0%)
45
0(0.0%)
50
0(0.0%)
55
0(0.0%)
60
0(0.0%)
65
0(0.0%)
70
0(0.0%)
75
0(0.0%)
80
0(0.0%)
85
0(0.0%)
90
0(0.0%)
95
0(0.0%)
100
0(0.0%)
If you use Microsoft Live Communication Server (LCS), how many people are on your buddy list in it?
Mean: 0.00 Median: 0 Std. Dev 0.00
0(0.0%)
0
10(100.0%)
5
0(0.0%)
10
0(0.0%)
15
0(0.0%)
20
0(0.0%)
25
0(0.0%)
30
0(0.0%)
35
0(0.0%)
40
0(0.0%)
45
0(0.0%)
50
0(0.0%)
55
0(0.0%)
60
0(0.0%)
65
0(0.0%)
70
0(0.0%)
75
0(0.0%)
80
0(0.0%)
85
0(0.0%)
90
0(0.0%)
95
0(0.0%)
100
0(0.0%)
If you have more than 100 buddies on any of the above, please tell me how many, and on which system(s).
If you use an instant-messaging system not listed above, how many people are on your buddy list in it?
Mean: 22.50 Median: 15 Std. Dev 25.37
0(0.0%)
0
3(37.5%)
5
1(12.5%)
10
0(0.0%)
15
0(0.0%)
20
0(0.0%)
25
1(12.5%)
30
1(12.5%)
35
0(0.0%)
40
0(0.0%)
45
1(12.5%)
50
0(0.0%)
55
0(0.0%)
60
0(0.0%)
65
0(0.0%)
70
0(0.0%)
75
1(12.5%)
80
0(0.0%)
85
0(0.0%)
90
0(0.0%)
95
0(0.0%)
100
0(0.0%)
If you answered the above question, which system are you using?
