AOL has drawn the ire of the users of its popular instant messenger program, AOL Instant Messenger (also known as AIM, AOL IM, AOL Chat, or AOL Message - whew!), by adding two new “buddies” to users’ buddy lists without even asking.

The ShoppingBuddy and MovieFone buddies just appeared in users’ buddy lists this week. The MovieFone buddy allows one to look up movie information, and the ShoppingBuddy buddy offers gift ideas and sale information.

According to an AOL spokesperson, although these are not the first commercial buddies which AOL has injected into its AIM system (it also offers a news ticker buddy and a baseball score ticker buddy through AOL Instant Messenger), it’s the first time that they have been added to users’ buddy lists without permission.

What I want to know is, what boneheaded marketing wonk…

[Continue reading AOL Angers Chatters with Forced Advertising Buddies in AOL Instant Messenger]

[tags]aim,aol instant messenger,shoppingbuddy,moviefone buddy,advertising chat[/tags]