What is meant by messaging system?

What are开发者_StackOverflow社区 the messaging systems available? I want to build a messaging system like twitter.How to proceed towards it?

Voicemail is a very popular messaging system. You could setup a web app that allows you to record your voice and send it to all of your followers.

Email is another very popular messaging system. Though I am not sure that it has staying power... its probably just some web2.0 craze.

Here's a Webinar tutorial: Building Twitter with Grails in 40 Minutes

Status.net is a good one. Also Yammer (more aimed at corporate environment). I think Salesforce just came up with one (http://www.salesforce.com/chatter/)

They all do the same as Twitter, just a little differently:

Status.Net is open source (or hosted) so you can run your own twitter. Yammer is a paid for version that only people in your company can access. Chatter is tied in with Salesforce.

If you're going to go down this route, you need to find that niche in the microblogging market that will give you an edge. I disagree with Matt Ellen in that I don't think this niche has been filled yet. Look at Facebook. It came into a world where MySpace was king. Its niche was exclusivity - you had to be a member of a college to join in the very beginning.

So, like with any new idea that is there to take on some well-established entity, find what makes it different and build on it.