[hershel]

Instant messaging has some interesting research[1] as a solution for solving the communication/interruption conflict:

" Analysis of these data indicates that IM use has no influence on overall levels of work communication. However, people who utilize IM at work report being interrupted less frequently than non-users, and they engage in more frequent computer-mediated communication than non-users, including both work-related and personal communication. These results are consistent with claims that employees use IM in ways that help them to manage interruption, such as quickly obtaining task-relevant information and negotiating conversational availability."

[1]http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007....

[userbinator]

That tends to be my experience as well; IM, while more "urgent" than email, is also not as distracting as being physically interrupted - it's a lot easier to ignore an IM or email than someone standing beside you waiting for you to finish whatever you're doing.

Some companies use IRC on their intranet; that's a setup I've used, and I found it useful and not very distracting.