J. Blackwell, Democrat & Chronicle, March 21, 2008
In the era of e-mail, instant messaging and social networks, you'd think it would be easier to keep in touch and connected to your cyber community, even when you're hard at work or study or play.
But these multiple modes of online communication can also trash the best plans to multi-task because of the time and distraction it takes to sign in and out of separate services and e-mail accounts.
Like the invention of the telephone or the computer — innovations that were supposed to clear our time for other things — online communications can also create logjams.
But Rochester Institute of Technology graduate student Steven Shapiro thinks he has a solution to quell an annoyance of inefficiency and it's called "digsby."
"Digsby is the first product that helps you manage all your IM, e-mail and social network accounts from one very-easy-to-use application," said Shapiro, 25, president of dotSyntax LLC, the company producing the program. Digsby is not the first or only program on the market that links online messaging services. But the key to Shapiro's statement is that he has found a way to make his program easier to use than other applications on the market.
What digsby does is allow the user to keep instant messaging, e-mail accounts and social networks open at the same time and accessible though convenient pop-up boxes and interfaces.
"I think the opportunity is ripe right now for a product that addresses this problem in a usable, organized way," said Richard DeMartino, director of the Albert J. Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at RIT. "And they've worked very hard on the development of the program and the usability of the program, and I think it has very good prospects."
In the beginning digsby's target was college students, but Shapiro said the program also will be useful for businesses or anyone with multiple accounts.
The program has been in limited testing for more than a month and early users seem to agree.
"I think that digsby is probably the most innovative IM client on the market," RIT student Chaim Sanders said in an e-mail. A user on digsby's chat room (www.digsby.com) identified as "tvjames" wrote: "I love digsby. It's quick, it's clean, it integrates nearly everything into one simple — elegant — interface. It is a time-saver for me, and as cool as it is, it's obvious that they could easily continue to innovate and wow us with new features."
The program is also getting encouraging words from tech blogs. Anthony Ha on Venturebeat.com wrote: "Digsby is very, very easy to use, allowing you to follow notifications from multiple accounts through an IM-style interface."
Shapiro's project is also creating quite a bit of buzz at RIT where digsby's seeds were planted, nurtured and eventually took root through a program that helps the school's students bring high-tech products to market.
"We expect Steve to be very successful and name a building at RIT in the next 5 to 10 years," said DeMartino. "He's our hope for Bill Gates."
There is some resemblance to the computer software giant in Shapiro's beginnings.
The Brooklyn native's idea and the business plan behind it was part of an assignment from a class on entrepreneurship Shapiro took as part of his MBA program at RIT.
After the class, he took the business plan, found private investors, put together a team and began creating the software.
Digsby has been under development for two years. And Shapiro has put off completing his MBA to finish it.
"It's been an amazing learning experience, needless to say," he said. Shapiro would not say how much money he has secured for the project from private investors.
But, he said RIT has played a big supporting role in the project.
His company, dotSyntax LLC, is part of Venture Creations, a school subsidiary that helps businesses bring technologies to market by providing affordable office space and advisory support from faculty, staff and alumni.
How long it will take digsby to hit the market is unclear and there are competing programs on the market.
Shapiro and his team must work out the bugs in their program (The public test window was opened Thursday) and finalize plans to turn the idea into a money-maker. The program is currently Windows based, but Shapiro has plans to develop Mac and Linux versions as well.
"I feel that products which help you access all the communications mediums that you use are definitely going to take off within the next couple of years," Shapiro said. "Hopefully digsby will be at the forefront of that movement."