Status App: A WordPress-Powered Mobile Micro Messaging Service

As Matt Mullenweg predicted in the State of the Word address in 2013, this new year brings with it a growing excitement around building applications based on WordPress. The launch of AppPresser, the first mobile application framework for WordPress, produced a healthy buzz around the idea and now the community is primed for more.

Ryan Fugate, better known around the web as “@modemlooper“, has created a WordPress-powered micro messaging app for mobile. Status App is actually a WordPress plugin that creates a Twitter type micro blogging platform for mobile users at your chosen URL.

Want to try it? Visit this URL from a mobile browser: http://status.taptappress.com/status

The status updates are stored as a custom post type within WordPress and can be managed from the admin. Right now the app doesn’t include a settings panel. You simply activate the plugin and then visit your site on mobile.

Since Status App is technically a social app, why didn’t he build it with BuddyPress? Ryan explained his reasoning when he introduced the app:

This could have been an app for BuddyPress but I am targeting a different group of users. BuddyPress is for front sided social networks with lots of features. Status App is for the content creators of a site. If you have ever used Yammer then you can understand the need for this type of functionality.

For now, @modemlooper is completing more user testing on multiple devices before the beta release of the plugin. More features are currently in the works, including @mentions, favoriting, profile editing, private messages. He plans to release Status App as a free plugin with a commercial version available to include more settings and add additional features.

Check out @modemlooper’s TapTapPress blog for more discussions on developing mobile apps for WordPress. If you’re testing the Status App and can help with reporting any issues, get in touch with Ryan and let him know the type of device you’re using.

I tested Status App last night and found it to be ridiculously simple and enjoyable to use. Additionally, unlike using Twitter, you own your own data when you create your own messaging service. I believe it’s apps like these that will lead to the ultimate crumbling of the massive social data silos that feed you advertisements and blatantly disregard user privacy. Eventually, users are going to be fed up and will flock to simple private social networks like the kind you can create with Status App. We’ll be closely following the evolution of this app and will let you know when you can download the free plugin to create your own micro messaging service.