We're looking at add a new feature to our site which would allow users who want to receive updates about their profile to get them sent directly to their Instant Messaging account (e.g. Yahoo, Live Messenger, AIM, etc.).
We're currently in the preliminary stages, just gathering information and seeing if it's actually something we want to do, so I was wondering if anyone here might be able to help us discover if there's a good solution out there?
There's so many cross-network IM platforms (several leap to mind, Trillian, X-Fire, Meebo, Miranda, Digsby, Raptr, Pidgin) but I really don't know a good place to start with regards to using an API. Is there an open-source cross-platform IM API around?
You could possibly use libpurple, which is what Pidgin and Adium use. It is GPL'd though, so not sure if this would make it unsuitable, depending on what modifications, if any, you made to it.