I was using XMPP two decades ago when it was first introduced (before smartphones) and it was then a great step forward compared to the other IM clients of the time: AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, MSN Messenger, etc.

It was great that it was going to be interoperable by design, particularly exciting when Google jumped on the XMPP bandwagon with native support in whichever of their dozens of chat apps was current at the time. But like nearly everything that Google runs through Beta, it was eventually scrapped, and they returned to their walled garden.

XMPP has been flailing for a long time and it’s not in a position to grow. Signal is far and away the best balance available today among security, privacy, usability, and network effects meaning other people to communicate with.

Working on writing the next few seasons of Narcos: Mexico.