Over AIM, sure, though not with a random name I pulled out of a hat or something. I think I've had most of my "heavy" conversations over IM, even with people I regularly speak to in person. It just lends itself better to that, imo, and greatly increases real conversation while reducing the risk of miscommunication. I'm not sure what the strange condescension is in the "for your sake", there. It's a kind of conversation. Perhaps it doesn't work for you, or you aren't very fluent in it. But between pairs of people who're used to it and who both "get it", it has plenty of nuances; it's not some strange caricature of exchanging telegrams with smileys in them. There are definitely people where it does feel like that, and I don't have real conversations with those people over IM, because it's just not their thing.
Same with a phone really; with some people phone conversations work well, and with others they work very poorly. I personally rank IM above phone in the nuance and avoidance of miscommunication department, so I would never want to have serious discussions with a risk of miscommunication over a phone. They're in a weird uncanny-valley place imo, but they do work for other people from what I can tell.
I don't use text/SMS a lot, so don't have a strong opinion on how that works. For people who have smartphone interfaces to SMS it seems it would be similar to a text chat, but I wouldn't want to venture a conclusion without knowing more.
What I'm saying is that it is intuitive for most people that for the situations in our lives that really matter most to us and the relationships we form, we know to be present in person, and fully engaged with our undivided attention. Then, it's not too far of a logical stretch to realize how such an approach is not unique to romantic relationships, allowing you to have a more effective impact on your business relationships as well.
Well, your first sentence is simply a prejudice that is true only for some people, so the logical conclusion clearly doesn't follow. :)
But it's not clear to me when we started talking about business relationships. That's not what either the article or my comment are about, is it? I don't really have an opinion on how to best run a business; the whole remote-work versus in-office work debate is a large, separate debate.
I'm not refuting your claim that text or instant message content can be deep. What I want to highlight is that relying on such methods of communication when decisions with substantial consequences need to be made, or you want to get someone on board with your idea, can be treacherous. Managing romantic relationships is a widely-relatable example of this.
I bring up the business relationship aspect because HN is focused on entrepreneurship, and many of the readers are interested in the subject. Even for non-entrepreneurs, successfully managing your business relationships would likely be of interest.
Same with a phone really; with some people phone conversations work well, and with others they work very poorly. I personally rank IM above phone in the nuance and avoidance of miscommunication department, so I would never want to have serious discussions with a risk of miscommunication over a phone. They're in a weird uncanny-valley place imo, but they do work for other people from what I can tell.
I don't use text/SMS a lot, so don't have a strong opinion on how that works. For people who have smartphone interfaces to SMS it seems it would be similar to a text chat, but I wouldn't want to venture a conclusion without knowing more.