Facebook is undeniably a huge success in the realm of online social networks. It has outlived MySpace, Friendster, and Multiply. What used to be just another website for sharing photos and status updates has become a pertinent and growing success for games, messaging, and now even real-time chat with text or video.
While some people struggle with being on different communication mediums like email, sms, Skype, MSN, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and etc.. – nearly everyone has one thing in common – a Facebook account! Since keeping up on instant messengers and email with my older and less tech-savvy relatives/friends used to be a pain, Facebook chat has been our common ground for fast and free online communication.
Like most people, you are probably online throughout the day as you work. Keeping Facebook windows, browser windows, instant messenger windows, and actual work windows can be difficult to manage. Its not especially nice to have a browser/tab minimized showing the title bar as “Facebook” to be open all day. Nosey officemates and bosses are quick to recognize the white and blue colors, bulleted wall posts, and green online chat icons of the Facebook website. If you keep Facebook online to chat with friends and family, then using a desktop program for purposes of Facebook chatting is ideal.
The Facebook website provides many alternatives to remaining online and chatting on Facebook through third party chat programs for your desktop.
Facebook Chat | Facebook 
The supported chat clients are:
Pidgin – a popular im/chat program that is compatible for Windows/MAC/Linux
Adium – im/chat program for MAC
iChat – the native chat program for MAC
XMPP supported chat clients – Facebook Chat follows the XMPP standards. Custom chat clients that support the XMPP protocol will work with Facebook Chat
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Facebook Chat Using Pidgin
Download and install Pidgin from
Pidgin, the universal chat client 
Download Pidgin from SourceForge.net
View your Facebook Chat Account details and settings. Visit the URL:
Facebook Chat | Facebook Configure Pidgin to use Facebook Chat 
Go to "
Accounts" and select "
Manage Accounts."
On the
Basic and
Advancedtabs, input your Facebook information as given to you in the Facebook Chat page (
Facebook Chat | Facebook)
Pidgin will connect to Facebook Chat, it will acquire an SLL Certificate to verify that you are securely connecting to Facebook.
Pidgin will connect to Facebook Chat. Notice that your grouping of Facebook friends is preserved and accessible to Pidgin. Enjoy chatting!
You no longer have to leave browser windows just to wait for Facebook friends and chat. You also save on available computer memory – as Facebook Chat running on Pidgin uses less computer and ram resources when compared to Firefox or Chrome. Also, you are relieved from nosey colleagues and bosses as you do Facebook Chatting
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Facebook Chat Using Adium (MAC only)
Go to the
Adium menu and select "
Preferences."
Click the "
+" at the bottom of the Accounts tab and select "
Jabber" from the pull-down menu.
Fill in the following information:
Jabber ID:
[email protected] Password: <your Facebook password>
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Facebook Chat Using iChat (MAC only)
Go to the iChat menu and select "
Preferences."
Click "
Accounts," then click the "
+" at the bottom.
Select "
Jabber" from the pull-down menu, then enter the following info:
Screen Name:
[email protected]
Password: <your Facebook password>
Click the arrow next to "
Server Options" and enter the following info:
Server: chat.facebook.com
Port: 5222
(Uncheck the box labeled "Use SSL")
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Facebook Chat Using XMPP Clients
Start your instant message program and locate the menu where you can add a new account (usually in preferences or settings).
Create a new account by entering the following info:
Protocol: XMPP or Jabber
Username: dominic.dandan
Domain: chat.facebook.com
Jabber ID:
[email protected] Password: <your Facebook password>
Enter the following server info, as requested:
Port: 5222
Server: chat.facebook.com
Use SSL/TLS: no
Allow Plaintext Authentication: no
