AIM Zeitgiest?

Finding patterns in vast sets of data is the definition of fun (really: I found this activity reoccurs in large quanities of fun, as broken down in my funtrifuge). Anywho.

AIM has a shitton of data: conversations themselves, sure, but slightly more static are away messages and buddy info(s?). Writing a tool to scrape your buddy list for URLs or common words and phrases in away messages and such is dead easy, but one buddy list with a typical maximum of 150 buddies isn’t enough data to be fun. I’d love to be at the helm of the server farm that drives AIM and able to scan the entirety of the service for patterns. Invasion of privacy? Totally! Fun? Just think of the zeitgiest reports you’d have! Google eat your heart out: here’s the flash animation that literally hundreds of thousands of individuals with only a tentative grasp on personal computer use are linking to! Also maybe genuinely interesting things!

I recently saw a Lazyweb request for a way to have more than 150 buddies on a buddy list. Presumably there’s some way to get at least a slightly larger slice of the AIM infosphere than we’re individually broken off. Once we know how, you can bet I’ll be eagerly waiting to use and abuse it.

So put up better away messages.