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Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

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Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#51

Post by amandine »

Kudos wrote: post #43
duozerk wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, riot sucks both in its current "desktop" implem (electron indeed) and the web version - tried it about two months back. You can tell there's possibly something worthwhile there though; eventually it may become usable for work. I found the way the software tries systematically to push the user towards the "official", centralized matrix server distasteful though.

> I found the way the software tries systematically to push the user towards the "official", centralized matrix server distasteful though. Seems like they're simply trying to reduce friction for the on-boarding process to me. Characterising it as distasteful is taking the piss a bit.

Indeed, trying to find the balance between "accessible for your average WhatsApp user" and "powerful for more advanced users" is still something we're working on. Nothing deliberate here.

- Matrix team

Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#52

Post by tomcooks »

tachion wrote: post #16
Unklejoe wrote: post #3

Cool. I just set up my own Matrix server (Synapse) the other day and have been using Riot.im on my iPhone. To be honest, everything works much better than I expected. Right now, my only complaints are that there are some notification settings that you can't change from the app, and that the user interface is a little redundant. I'm highly optimistic though.

And who are you talking to? The problem with Matrix (or other messenger technologies) is not that they're not good enough (in most cases nowdays) but that if not enough people are using them, they're useless, even if technically superior. I have pretty great working Jabber server but the issue is I have literally 2 people left I can talk to using it nowdays and both hardware and maintenance costs when compared to ben…

Check out public rooms directories, right in the app/webapp. Plenty of users and public channels, mostly IT oriented.

Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#53

Post by celdon25 »

zanny wrote: post #49
edaemon wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I share your distrust, which is one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of Discord. I don't know where Riot's revenue will come from, but Matrix [1] (and Riot by extension [2]) support end-to-end encryption. As others have said you can also set up your own server. [1] https://matrix.org/blog/2016/11/21/matrixs-olm-end-to-end-en... [2] https://medium.com/@RiotChat/exciting-new-riot-release-get-r...

I absolutely wish Matrix could crush Discord. An entire generation of users came out burned by programs like Skype, Hangouts, MSM, Facebook Messenger, etc and then threw themselves eagerly into another closed ecosystem messenger just because it was one of the first to manage a really performant web client.

I think it can, but it will take time. It is up to the community and userbase to adopt it as much as it is up to the team behind the software.

Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#54

Post by nirv »

pablanopete wrote: post #35
nirv wrote: post #10

I have never heard of Status.im[0], but I'm glad that the Matrix protocol[1] and it's major[2] client implementation Riot.im[3]—received significant financial resources. We, a small group of tech-savvy people, tried to use Riot client in the early summer of 2017, but it was far from being convenient for work needs. Poor UI/UX, overcomplicated E2E-keys sharing, sluggish interface (Electron, as you might have guessed)…

Hey there! Sounds awesome, I'm with Status and would love for you to check out more about what we're all about. https://wiki.status.im/The_Status_Network_Whitepaper We're super supportive of matrix and their protocol, Riot will be getting a huge overhaul from how I understand https://matrix.org/blog/2018/01/29/status-partners-up-with-n... their latest blog post on this investment goes over the details of what all the…

I don't know how this will end up, but thank you for taking risks supporting open-source federated comms. I hope this will give a mature, free alternative for those of us who are not enthusiastic about the ubiquitous centralization and vendor-locked technologies.

Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#56

Post by frabcus »

MentallyRetired wrote: post #7
Unklejoe wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Riot.im is an open source Android/iOS/web messaging app. It uses the Matrix protocol, which is also open. There is a reference Matrix server called "Synapse", which I actually just started running the other day. With these components, you can host your own messaging platform.

Who will I message?

I use it as an IRC/Slack alternative, and it's pretty good - especially for the equivalent of public channels. The apps are better and easier to explain than IRC ones, and it is easier to join and more open than Slack.

Naturally, if you're making a new channel for a group, you have to ask everyone in the group to join it. That's the case whatever messenger you use.

There is crypto now for private messages, but it is a little clunky to setup still. I hope that the funding helps make this better!

For friends I've shared keys with, it works really well. Of course, right now people will only join for ideological reasons. That's OK though!

Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#57

Post by frabcus »

lima wrote: post #6

How are they supposed to make money? I distrust for-profit messenger apps, no matter how good their intentions are. Sooner or later, they'll sell my data :(

The original plan was to sell related software and services to telecoms companies. The parent company that funded development of Matrix already has similar business relationships with them. Think e.g. a Brazilian phone company.

I think the idea is that those phone companies are scared of WhatsApp and Messenger. It's to their advantage to fund an open, federated messenger bus, so their attempts to compete with them work well globally.

This B2B market has the virtue that it allows improvement and maintenance of an open, consumer application, without contradicting revenue from business uses.

I'm not sure if this is still the ultimate revenue plan, would love to know!

Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#58

Post by anderspitman »

NoGravitas wrote: post #36
tachion wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And who are you talking to? The problem with Matrix (or other messenger technologies) is not that they're not good enough (in most cases nowdays) but that if not enough people are using them, they're useless, even if technically superior. I have pretty great working Jabber server but the issue is I have literally 2 people left I can talk to using it nowdays and both hardware and maintenance costs when compared to ben…

I use it primarily as a Slack alternative, for coordinating with people on Free Software projects.

Basically this. One of my favorite insights from an episode of Masters of Scale about Slack[0] is that products like Slack don't necessarily have to achieve huge network effects in the traditional sense to be successful, because you can convince companies to use it for specific teams, projects, or even company-wide, and then grow one company at a time. I'm currently using Riot/Matrix for things I'd usually set up a Slack/Gitter/Discord room for. For most of my friends they associate Riot with whatever the purpose of the chat room is, but at least it's a foot in the door from my perspective.

[0] https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/masters-of-scale/e...

Re: Status.im Invests $5M in Riot.im

#60

Post by anderspitman »

celdon25 wrote: post #53
zanny wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I absolutely wish Matrix could crush Discord. An entire generation of users came out burned by programs like Skype, Hangouts, MSM, Facebook Messenger, etc and then threw themselves eagerly into another closed ecosystem messenger just because it was one of the first to manage a really performant web client.

I think it can, but it will take time. It is up to the community and userbase to adopt it as much as it is up to the team behind the software.

Yeah I think the potential is there, but Riot will probably need features like Push to Talk and other gaming-oriented stuff.
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