There are a lot of ways for people to chat with each other online.
There are browser-based systems as well as stand-alone software packages that you can use.
Google has a chat feature through Gmail and Yahoo Messenger has been a staple in chat software for many years.
But no chatting method can hold a candle to Facebook's integrated social chat.
Facebook chat has become really popular really fast.
Even though it is relatively new, most people use it as a preferred method of chat over others.
These may be some of the biggest reasons: Since Facebook has such a wide and established user base, odds are most of your friends have one.
This makes everyone readily accessible; if you and your friends use Facebook, you can chat with them.
While some people prefer Skype over AIM, both groups probably have Facebook pages.
So that means you won't have to pick one or the other.
Obtaining people's e-mail addresses and finding out which service they use gets thrown out completely.
Having all your friends in one place (figuratively) is probably the best part about Facebook chat.
And why it seems so much better than other chat services.
Another thing that makes Facebook chat so great is the fact that people usually stay on Facebook for hours at a time.
If you use your e-mail to chat, odds are you are only on it when you're checking your e-mail; it doesn't make you very available.
Facebook, however, can stay open in the background while you work at the office.
You can switch between doing your work and checking your Facebook, which makes you much more accessible to your friends.
Facebook's simple interface also contributes to the popularity of its chat platform.
It allows a lot of people, who might not necessarily be technologically inclined, to communicate with each other very easily.
This lends credence to the fact that if you make something easy to use, people will want to use it.