Stowe Boyd wonders what the point of Big String’s self-destructing instant messages are:

I don’t know why someone would want a self-destructing IM. And couldn’t someone simply retype an IM if they wanted to spoof what you had said?

I guess Stowe has never been deposed on a legal case by lawyers.  In business, this happens a lot.  If you are in business for long enough and are successful enough, you will be deposed.  The opposing side’s lawyers job is to find every bit of documented evidence they can and use it to make you look evil. 

Many financial institutions these days can use neither email nor instant messaging precisely because it creates a paper trail.  While it’s true they may feel they have something to hide, what’s more common is a fear things will be taken out of context.

While this idea may not be ultimately successful, it motivated by a big pain area among large businesses with paranoid corporate counsels.