Sorry to say this Robert but I have to say I don't like the new Facebook style chat system at all.
With the old system you could see the content so it was both informative and invited you to jump in if the topic was of interest. With the new system, everythings hidden away and very private.
Its kind of like a private messaging system without the need to go to a private messaging page.
You never know whats going on so theres no way to join.