A long time ago in an Internet far, far away, there happened a series of skirmishes known as the Instant Messaging Protocol Wars, involving brave warriors from the SIP and XMPP communities. Words were exchanged, epithets were hurled, swords were drawn, hand-to-hand combat ensued at IETF meetings, and much blood was shed. All for naught - as with most wars - because the real enemy (proprietary systems) invaded vast swaths of territory in the meantime.
Eventually, the combatants realized the error of their ways and sought a peaceful resolution to their conflict. Internet-Drafts were written, terms of cooperation were discussed, a working group was formed, and formal activity commenced. Six documents have resulted from this initiative, one each for core interoperability, presence, instant messaging, one-to-one chat, groupchat, and media signaling. Today, the first two of these specifications were published as RFCs: RFC 7247 (core) and RFC 7248 (presence). The other four are wending their way through the IETF's standards process and will emerge from the fog of battle sometime later this year. Stay tuned for updates. :-)