The original article looked at the wish to remain reachable both at a desktop computer and on a mobile phone. It mentioned Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk as examples familiar to its readers.
The growing variety of phones and operating systems made communication applications a competitive area. The author welcomed that competition as a potential benefit to users.
Synchronisation was the goal
The source imagined bringing messages from different services into a useful common view. It discussed continuing a phone conversation at a computer and communicating with people who used another provider's network.
Those are related but different ideas. Synchronising one account across devices does not necessarily mean that two separate messaging providers can exchange messages with each other.
One conversation, several places
Being able to resume an exchange on another device could reduce the need to repeat information or search through several disconnected histories. It also made the relationship between a service account and a particular piece of equipment easier to understand.
The original author presented such continuity as part of a wider lifestyle in which people expected communication tools to move with them.
What the enthusiasm left out
The article said that anyone with an Internet connection had little excuse for being out of contact. That enthusiasm should not be treated as an obligation to be continuously available.
Choosing when to respond, which account to use and what information to synchronise remains part of using a communication tool deliberately.
Contact when distance matters
The source also recognised that online conversation could not reproduce every aspect of meeting in person. It particularly valued messaging when family, friends or colleagues were too far away to meet conveniently.
Its conclusion encouraged people to try the available tools and choose one suited to their needs. The individual services named in the old account are historical examples, rather than a current shortlist.
Related reading
The article about people behind the screen discusses the human side of the same subject. The multi-protocol overview explains why one application sometimes supported several accounts.