In addition to sucking in technical ways, the current set of open protocols probably could stand to leave more room for innovation. Chat is a really hot area in

In addition to sucking in technical ways, the current set of open protocols probably could stand to leave more room for innovation. Chat is a really hot area in the industry right now, and people are trying all kinds of different things with it. Team-oriented stuff, smart threading, different forms of addressing (find people by mobile phone number instead of account name), and plenty more I'm not even aware of. An open solution would have a better shot if it has a way to not only solve problems well but also evolve and incorporate new features and ideas. Another issue is that social platforms serve as a unique kind of directory service. It turns out that how good a chat system is at allowing you to find contacts to chat with might be just as important as how good it is at actually chatting with them.