Proprietary communication protocols seem to be a thing of the past, while open technologies are gradually becoming more prevalent. AOL is using XMPP (also known as Jabber), an open technology, on a test server. This means that users will soon be able to communicate with ICQ/AIM contacts through Jabber. Previously, Google Talk adopted the Jabber protocol from its launch.
If Jabber becomes the solution for the majority of instant messaging in the future, the alliance of Sina UC and lava-lava adopting the Jabber protocol would greatly enhance their competitive edge against Tencent. If Tencent accepts the Jabber protocol, it would lose much of its user base advantage, reducing the cost of user migration; if Tencent refuses the Jabber protocol, it would inevitably face a pack-style attack from internal and external competitors, possibly being gradually weakened.