MARIETTA, GA—Already awake and in front of the computer while most of her email contacts were still listed as “idle,” area woman Kate Lapointe got up early Monday morning to begin sowing the seeds of the day’s first Gchat conversations, sources confirmed. “Hey hey, what’s up?” Lapointe reportedly typed to three separate friends, sending a cross-section of other acquaintances messages like “hi,” “plans this week?” and “ugh, sooo tired” in the hopes that one or more would bear fruit as the day progressed. “How’s work going?” At press time, reports indicated that Lapointe had rushed back to Gmail from several browser tabs away after a flurry of electronic dings signaled it was time to begin reaping the responses she had sown.