There's a difference between advocating for a particular standard because one has a vested interest in that particular standard (e.g. lamenting that JSON isn't XML) and advocating for openness in principle (in this case, lamenting that Google is promoting a proprietary, unfederated IM service in a world dominated by other such services). I think you're confusing the latter for the former.

IMO, any "progress" in the form of a proprietary service which erects boundaries for communication is not progress at all.