Interview With Steve Shapiro of Digsby

Several weeks ago, I began using a new IM client that could manage my Email, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, as well as AIM, Google Talk, and Facebook chat. There are a few other good services out there, but I thought I would try out Digsby. I have never looked back to AIM 6 since. While I had a few minor problems with the IM client, it is definitely better than AIM 6.

I decided to get in contact with their President and Founder, Steve Shapiro. Here is the interview.

Sood: How did Digsby get started and what was your inspiration to create a piece of software that handles almost all aspects of communication?

Shapiro: Digsby started as a class project when I was doing my MBA at the Rochester Institute of Technology. After the course, I closed a round of seed funding, organized a team of RIT students/grads and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sood: Are you pleased with how development has progressed for Digsby?

Shapiro: We are very pleased with how development has progress, especially considering how young the project is. We are even more pleased with the amazing response we have gotten from both the press and Digsby users.

Sood: How much time does your team spend every week fixing bugs and making new features?

Shapiro: We work a lot :)

Sood: Has Digsby been a profitable venture for you and your team so far, since it is ad-less?

Shapiro: As a private company, we don’t disclose finances.

Sood: What major additions do you have in store for Digsby in the future?

Shapiro: We’ve spent a lot of time over the past year fixing bugs and optimizing performance. We are finally at a point where it is a relatively stable product so we can begin to focus on adding new features and getting the Mac/Linux builds out the door.

Sood: If you could redo one aspect of Digsby’s history, what would it be?

Shapiro: Not sure.

Sood: As more and more different types of social networking services become available, will Digsby be able to keep up?

Shapiro: Definitely and as more social networks become popular, Digsby’s value to the end user only increases.

Sood: Thanks for taking time to answer my questions, do you have any last words about Digsby for our readers?

Shapiro: We’ll keep pushing to make Digsby even better and greatly appreciate your help in spreading the word.