Me Menu permanently Offline

[parsim]

What do I have to do to get some love from the Me Menu? It says "Offline".

If I click "Available", then Empathy starts up, and I get Twitter/Gwibber notifications, but the Me Menu still says "Offline". If I click "Offline" (even though it's already selected), then Empathy disconnects. While I am connected to a chat room via Empathy, the little envelope thingy will turn blue or green if I have a new message. Basically, all seems normal except that Me Menu permanently says I'm Offline.

[parsim]

I discovered that if I install Pidgin, the Me Menu status WILL change according to my status in Pidgin. And vice versa: if Pidgin is running, it listens to changes in my Me Menu status.

But I don't use Pidgin! And if no chat clients are running, selecting "Available" in the Me Menu starts Empathy, not Pidgin. What's going on here?