Today's letter in the Networking ABC's is the letter "J".  "J" was a tough one as there aren't that many networking specific terms specific to networking.  I looked and looked and after catching up on twitter, I realized the app I'm using for twitter is using a "J" word under the seems.  Google talk is an instant messaging client that has integration with twitter via the Jabber protocol.  So, there it is: today's word is "Jabber".  BTW, does anyone know why I used the shark? 

"J" is for Jabber

Jabber

Pronounced:  jab-er

Jabber is a broad term that refers to an open, secure technology for instant messaging services.  It is an initiative to produce an open source, XML-based IM platform.  Jabber operates differently than other proprietary IM systems and works in a fashion similar to e-mail using a distributed architecture.  The popular Google Talk and Google Chat instant messaging products are built on top of the Jabber protocols.