In this episode, Eric Migicovsky, co-founder of Beeper and former founder of Pebble, dives into the future of messaging. He discusses the frustrations of juggling multiple messaging apps and presents Beeper’s vision to unify them into one seamless interface. The conversation touches on the challenges of innovation in a landscape stuck in traditional silos, the importance of user control, and how privacy concerns shape future designs. With insights on the potential of a consolidated messaging experience, Eric opens a doorway to a smarter, more connected future.
Beeper is a universal messaging app that integrates all messages from different apps, providing a unified chat experience.
Beeper leverages the open standard protocol of Matrix to achieve interoperability and enable new features without relying on individual chat networks.
Beeper prioritizes user control and privacy, aiming to create a better communication tool for users.
Deep dives
Beeper: The Universal Messaging App
Beeper is a new messaging app that aims to integrate all your messages from different apps and put them in one place. With Beeper, you no longer have to switch between multiple messaging apps or remember which app each person uses. The app supports various chat networks, including iMessage, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Slack, allowing you to easily communicate with anyone on any network through a single app. Beeper is designed to give users more control over their messages, allowing them to manage their inbox, prioritize conversations, and organize chats. By adopting the open standard protocol of Matrix, Beeper offers an alternative to the current siloed messaging apps, enabling interoperability and integration across different networks. Although Beeper is a paid app, it aims to provide a better chat experience by focusing solely on communication rather than being driven by ulterior motives or advertising. The app plans to further enhance its features and explore new communication modalities in the future, such as voice chat and hardware integration.
The Problem of Messaging Silos
The podcast episode discusses the current state of messaging apps, which are often siloed and lack interoperability. The speaker highlights the challenges of using multiple apps for different networks, leading to the need to switch between them and remember where each conversation takes place. The reliance on platform-specific apps prevents streamlined communication and makes it difficult for users to have all their messages in one place. The limitations of existing chat apps, which prioritize their own platforms and lack open APIs, are presented as obstacles to building a comprehensive messaging experience. The podcast delves into the historical shifts in messaging, such as the shift to mobile and the rise of mobile-first apps like WhatsApp and iMessage, noting how these developments have further fragmented the ecosystem.
Beeper's Approach to Universal Messaging
Beeper aims to solve the messaging silos problem by providing a universal messaging app that integrates all chat networks. The app connects to various messaging services, allowing users to access all their messages in a single app. Beeper leverages an open standard protocol called Matrix to achieve interoperability and federated messaging. This approach separates the interface from the underlying network, enabling Beeper to experiment and introduce new features without relying on the individual chat networks to implement them. One of Beeper's goals is to simplify communication by enabling users to search and chat with anyone across different networks using a unified interface. Through its features, Beeper addresses inbox management, prioritization, and metadata to enhance the messaging experience.
Beeper's Business Model and Vision
Beeper follows a freemium model, allowing users to choose between a free version and a paid option that offers additional features. The company believes that a significant portion of the 3 billion daily chat users worldwide would be interested in a paid version that provides a superior messaging experience. By focusing solely on building a great chat app instead of being driven by other revenue streams, Beeper aims to create a better communication tool for users. Additionally, the podcast explores the importance of user control over messages and the need for communication apps to prioritize user privacy and ownership of their conversations. Beeper's long-term vision includes continuously improving the chat experience, exploring new communication modalities, and potentially integrating with various devices for seamless communication.
The Future of Messaging and Challenges Ahead
The podcast episode discusses the future of messaging and the challenges faced by companies like Beeper. It examines the tension between standardization and innovation and the importance of finding a balance between providing a familiar chat experience and introducing novel features. The speaker raises questions about the sustainability of the current messaging landscape, highlighting the need for broadening communication options beyond the limitations of existing platforms. The podcast also touches on regulatory developments, such as the European Union's Digital Markets Act, which aims to promote interoperability and fair competition in the messaging market. Overall, the episode offers insights into the evolving messaging landscape and Beeper's efforts to revolutionize communication.
In episode two of our connectivity mini series, The Verge's David Pierce chats with Eric Migicovsky co-founder of Beeper. Beeper is a universal messaging app trying to take all your messages from all your apps and put them in one place. Is this the future of chat?
