Just stumbled upon a new technology called XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol). In my reading, it seems as though XMPP was derived as a enhanced way to facilitate web services (or now SaaS – Software as a Service) and cloud computing.
Instead of web services that “poll” (i.e., inquire about) a computer every x-minutes to check for new information, XMPP creates an instant messaging effect where an open communication channel is always available through an XMPP-based server. A couple popular examples of XMPP: Google Chat and Twitter.
Given it is open-source, it also seems that XMPP ‘firehoses‘ can be viewed by others, as long as APIs are written to give access to the ‘firehose.’ Talk about a mashup of information. See Twitter and Gnip.
Update: Chris is right (see comment below). I’d have to agree that I used the word “new” rather flippantly in this post. According to XMPP.org, the core technology was established in 1998 and resulted in a series of standardized Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) in 2004. 10 years of XMPP and 4 years of standardized usage hardly seems new.
I would hardly call XMPP new! It’s been around for years. I set up an internal XMPP server at my old place of employment so people could IM around the company. It’s been implemented (most popularly) in the Open Source world as “Jabber,” and as you mention, Google Talk is based on Jabber and the XMPP protocol. Long live Open Standards! 🙂