diff --git a/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterBackend.ps1 b/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterBackend.ps1
index bc9a8e4..a8713ae 100644
--- a/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterBackend.ps1
+++ b/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterBackend.ps1
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-
 class GitterBackend : Backend {
-
     # Constructor
     GitterBackend ([string]$Token, [string]$RoomId) {
         $config = [ConnectionConfig]::new()
@@ -14,11 +12,10 @@ class GitterBackend : Backend {
 
     # Connect to the chat network
     [void]Connect() {
-        $this.LogInfo('Connecting to backend')
+        $this.LogInfo('Connecting to backend...')
         $this.Connection.Connect()
         $this.BotId = $this.GetBotIdentity()
         $this.LoadUsers()
-        $this.LoadRooms()
     }
 
     # Disconnect from the chat network
@@ -39,65 +36,239 @@ class GitterBackend : Backend {
     }
 
     # Receive a message from the chat network
-    [Message]ReceiveMessage() {
-        # Implement logic to receive a message from the
-        # chat network using network-specific APIs.
+    [Message[]]ReceiveMessage() {
+        $messages = New-Object -TypeName System.Collections.ArrayList
 
-        # This method assumes that a connection to the chat network
-        # has already been made using $this.Connect()
+        try {
+            # Read the output stream from the receive job and get any messages since our last read
+            [string[]]$jsonResults = $this.Connection.ReadReceiveJob()
 
-        # This method should return quickly (no blocking calls)
-        # so PoshBot can continue in its message processing loop
-        return $null
-    }
+            foreach ($jsonResult in $jsonResults) {
+                if ($null -ne $jsonResult -and $jsonResult -ne [string]::Empty) {
+                    #Write-Debug -Message "[SlackBackend:ReceiveMessage] Received `n$jsonResult"
+                    $this.LogDebug('Received message', $jsonResult)
 
-    # Send a message back to the chat network
-    [void]SendMessage([Response]$Response) {
-        # Implement logic to send a message
-        # back to the chat network
+                    $gitterMessage = @($jsonResult | ConvertFrom-Json)
+
+                    $msg = [Message]::new()
+                    $msg.From = $gitterMessage.fromUser.id
+                    $msg.Text = $gitterMessage.text
+                    $msg.Time = $gitterMessage.sent
+
+                    # ** Important safety tip, don't cross the streams **
+                    # Only return messages that didn't come from the bot
+                    # else we'd cause a feedback loop with the bot processing
+                    # it's own responses
+                    if (-not $this.MsgFromBot($msg.From)) {
+                        $messages.Add($msg) > $null
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        } catch {
+            Write-Error $_
+        }
+
+        return $messages
     }
 
     # Return a user object given an Id
     [Person]GetUser([string]$UserId) {
-        # Return a [Person] instance (or a class derived from [Person])
-        return $null
+        $user = $this.Users[$UserId]
+        if (-not $user) {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "User [$UserId] not found. Refreshing users")
+            $this.LoadUsers()
+            $user = $this.Users[$UserId]
+        }
+
+        if ($user) {
+            $this.LogDebug("Resolved user [$UserId]", $user)
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "Could not resolve user [$UserId]")
+        }
+        return $user
+    }
+
+    # Get all user info by their ID
+    [hashtable]GetUserInfo([string]$UserId) {
+        $user = $null
+        if ($this.Users.ContainsKey($UserId)) {
+            $user = $this.Users[$UserId]
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "User [$UserId] not found. Refreshing users")
+            $this.LoadUsers()
+            $user = $this.Users[$UserId]
+        }
+
+        if ($user) {
+            $this.LogDebug("Resolved [$UserId] to [$($user.UserName)]")
+            return $user.ToHash()
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "Could not resolve channel [$UserId]")
+            return $null
+        }
+    }
+
+    # Add a reaction to an existing chat message
+    [void]AddReaction([Message]$Message, [ReactionType]$Type, [string]$Reaction) {
+        $this.LogDebug("Reactions are not yet supported in Gitter - Ignoring")
+        # TODO: Must build out once Gitter supports it.
+    }
+
+    # Remove a reaction from an existing chat message
+    [void]RemoveReaction([Message]$Message, [ReactionType]$Type, [string]$Reaction) {
+        $this.LogDebug("Reactions are not yet supported in Gitter - Ignoring")
+        # TODO: Must build out once Gitter supports it.
+    }
+
+    # Send a message back to Gitter
+    [void]SendMessage([Response]$Response) {
+        # Process any custom responses
+        $this.LogVerbose("[$($Response.Data.Count)] custom responses")
+        $NL = [System.Environment]::NewLine
+        foreach ($customResponse in $Response.Data) {
+            [string]$sendTo = $Response.To
+            if ($customResponse.DM) {
+                $sendTo = "@$($this.UserIdToUsername($Response.MessageFrom))"
+            }
+
+            switch -Regex ($customResponse.PSObject.TypeNames[0]) {
+                '(.*?)PoshBot\.Card\.Response' {
+                    $this.LogDebug('Custom response is [PoshBot.Card.Response]')
+                    $t = '```' + $NL + $customResponse.Text + '```'
+                    $this.SendGitterMessage($t)
+                    break
+                }
+                '(.*?)PoshBot\.Text\.Response' {
+                    $this.LogDebug('Custom response is [PoshBot.Text.Response]')
+                    $t = '```' + $NL + $customResponse.Text + '```'
+                    $this.SendGitterMessage($t)
+                    break
+                }
+                '(.*?)PoshBot\.File\.Upload' {
+                    $this.LogDebug('Custom response is [PoshBot.File.Upload]')
+                    $this.LogVerbose('Not currently implemented')
+                    break
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if ($Response.Text.Count -gt 0) {
+            foreach ($t in $Response.Text) {
+                $this.LogDebug("Sending response back to Gitter channel [$($Response.To)]", $t)
+                $t = '```' + $NL + $t + '```'
+                $this.SendGitterMessage($t)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    [void]SendGitterMessage([string]$message) {
+        $token = $this.Connection.Config.Credential.GetNetworkCredential().Password
+        $roomId = $this.Connection.Config.Endpoint
+        $restParams = @{
+            Method = 'Post'
+            ContentType = 'application/json'
+            Verbose     = $false
+            Headers     = @{
+                Authorization = "Bearer $($token)"
+            }
+            Uri         = "https://api.gitter.im/v1/rooms/$roomId/chatMessages"
+            Body = @{
+                text = "$message"
+            } | ConvertTo-Json
+        }
+
+        $gitterResponse = Invoke-RestMethod @restParams
     }
 
     # Resolve a user name to user id
     [string]UsernameToUserId([string]$Username) {
-        # Do something using the chat network APIs to
-        # resolve a username to an Id and return it
-        return '12345'
+        $Username = $Username.TrimStart('@')
+        $user = $this.Users.Values | Where-Object {$_.UserName -eq $Username}
+        $id = $null
+
+        if ($user) {
+            $id = $user.Id
+        } else {
+            # User each doesn't exist or is not in the local cache
+            # Refresh it and try again
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "User [$Username] not found. Refreshing users")
+            $this.LoadUsers()
+            $user = $this.Users.Values | Where-Object {$_.Nickname -eq $Username}
+
+            if (-not $user) {
+                $id = $null
+            } else {
+                $id = $user.Id
+            }
+        }
+        if ($id) {
+            $this.LogDebug("Resolved [$Username] to [$id]")
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "Could not resolve user [$Username]")
+        }
+
+        return $id
     }
 
     # Resolve a user ID to a username/nickname
     [string]UserIdToUsername([string]$UserId) {
-        # Do something using the network APIs to
-        # resolve a username from an Id and return it
-        return 'JoeUser'
+        $name = $null
+        if ($this.Users.ContainsKey($UserId)) {
+            $name = $this.Users[$UserId].UserName
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "User [$UserId] not found. Refreshing users")
+            $this.LoadUsers()
+            $name = $this.Users[$UserId].UserName
+        }
+
+        if ($name) {
+            $this.LogDebug("Resolved [$UserId] to [$name]")
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, "Could not resolve user [$UserId]")
+        }
+
+        return $name
     }
 
-    [void]LoadUsers() {
-        $this.LogDebug('Getting Gitter Room Users')
+    # Get the bot identity Id
+    [string]GetBotIdentity() {
+        $id = $this.Connection.LoginData.id
+        $this.LogVerbose("Bot identity is [$id]")
+        return $id
+    }
 
-        #$allUsers = Get-Slackuser -Token $this.Connection.Config.Credential.GetNetworkCredential().Password -Verbose:$false
+    # Determine if incoming message was from the bot
+    [bool]MsgFromBot([string]$From) {
+        $frombot = ($this.BotId -eq $From)
+        if ($fromBot) {
+            $this.LogDebug("Message is from bot [From: $From == Bot: $($this.BotId)]. Ignoring")
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug("Message is not from bot [From: $From <> Bot: $($this.BotId)]")
+        }
+        return $fromBot
+    }
 
-        $token = $this.Config.Credential.GetNetworkCredential().Password
-        $roomId = $this.Config.Endpoint
+    [void]LoadUsers() {
+        $this.LogVerbose('Getting Gitter Room Users...')
+
+        $token = $this.Connection.Config.Credential.GetNetworkCredential().Password
+        $roomId = $this.Connection.Config.Endpoint
         $restParams = @{
             ContentType = 'application/json'
-            Verbose = $false
-            Headers = @{
+            Verbose     = $false
+            Headers     = @{
                 Authorization = "Bearer $($token)"
             }
-            Uri = "https://api.gitter.im/v1/rooms/$roomId/users"
+            Uri         = "https://api.gitter.im/v1/rooms/$roomId/users"
         }
+
         $allUsers = Invoke-RestMethod @restParams
 
-        $this.LogDebug("[$($allUsers.Count)] users returned")
+        $this.LogVerbose("[$($allUsers.Count)] users returned")
         $allUsers | ForEach-Object {
             $user = [GitterPerson]::new()
             $user.Id = $_.id
+            $user.UserName = $_.username
             $user.DisplayName = $_.displayname
             $user.Url = $_.url
             $user.AvatarUrl = $_.avatarUrl
@@ -108,7 +279,7 @@ class GitterBackend : Backend {
             $user.GV = $_.gv
             if (-not $this.Users.ContainsKey($_.ID)) {
                 $this.LogDebug("Adding user [$($_.ID):$($_.Name)]")
-                $this.Users[$_.ID] =  $user
+                $this.Users[$_.ID] = $user
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterConnection.ps1 b/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterConnection.ps1
index 7bf4672..182efa6 100644
--- a/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterConnection.ps1
+++ b/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Classes/GitterConnection.ps1
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-
 class GitterConnection : Connection {
+    [pscustomobject]$LoginData
+    [bool]$Connected
+    [object]$ReceiveJob = $null
 
     GitterConnection() {
         # Implement any needed initialization steps
@@ -7,13 +9,114 @@ class GitterConnection : Connection {
 
     # Connect to the chat network
     [void]Connect() {
-        # Use the configuration stored in $this.Config (inherited from base class)
-        # to connect to the chat network
+        $token = $this.Config.Credential.GetNetworkCredential().Password
+        $restParams = @{
+            ContentType = 'application/json'
+            Verbose     = $false
+            Headers     = @{
+                Authorization = "Bearer $($token)"
+            }
+            Uri         = "https://api.gitter.im/v1/user"
+        }
+
+        $currentUser = Invoke-RestMethod @restParams
+        $this.LoginData = $currentUser[0]
+
+        if ($null -eq $this.ReceiveJob -or $this.ReceiveJob.State -ne 'Running') {
+            $this.LogDebug('Connecting to Gitter Streaming API')
+            $this.StartReceiveJob()
+        } else {
+            $this.LogDebug([LogSeverity]::Warning, 'Receive job is already running')
+        }
     }
 
     # Disconnect from the chat network
     [void]Disconnect() {
-        # Use the configuration stored in $this.Config (inherited from base class)
-        # to disconnect to the chat network
+        $this.LogInfo('Closing connection...')
+        if ($this.ReceiveJob) {
+            $this.LogInfo("Stopping receive job [$($this.ReceiveJob.Id)]")
+            $this.ReceiveJob | Stop-Job -Confirm:$false -PassThru | Remove-Job -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+        }
+        $this.Connected = $false
+        $this.Status = [ConnectionStatus]::Disconnected
+    }
+
+    # Read all available data from the job
+    [string]ReadReceiveJob() {
+        # Read stream info from the job so we can log them
+        $infoStream = $this.ReceiveJob.ChildJobs[0].Information.ReadAll()
+        $warningStream = $this.ReceiveJob.ChildJobs[0].Warning.ReadAll()
+        $errStream = $this.ReceiveJob.ChildJobs[0].Error.ReadAll()
+        $verboseStream = $this.ReceiveJob.ChildJobs[0].Verbose.ReadAll()
+        $debugStream = $this.ReceiveJob.ChildJobs[0].Debug.ReadAll()
+        foreach ($item in $infoStream) {
+            $this.LogInfo($item.ToString())
+        }
+        foreach ($item in $warningStream) {
+            $this.LogInfo([LogSeverity]::Warning, $item.ToString())
+        }
+        foreach ($item in $errStream) {
+            $this.LogInfo([LogSeverity]::Error, $item.ToString())
+        }
+        foreach ($item in $verboseStream) {
+            $this.LogVerbose($item.ToString())
+        }
+        foreach ($item in $debugStream) {
+            $this.LogVerbose($item.ToString())
+        }
+
+        # The receive job stopped for some reason. Reestablish the connection if the job isn't running
+        if ($this.ReceiveJob.State -ne 'Running') {
+            $this.LogInfo([LogSeverity]::Warning, "Receive job state is [$($this.ReceiveJob.State)]. Attempting to reconnect...")
+            Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
+            $this.Connect()
+        }
+
+        if ($this.ReceiveJob.HasMoreData) {
+            return $this.ReceiveJob.ChildJobs[0].Output.ReadAll()
+        } else {
+            return $null
+        }
+    }
+
+    [void]StartReceiveJob() {
+        $recv = {
+            [cmdletbinding()]
+            param(
+                [parameter(mandatory)]
+                $token,
+                [parameter(mandatory)]
+                $roomId
+            )
+
+            # Connect to Gitter
+            Write-Verbose "[GitterBackend:ReceiveJob] Connecting to RoomId [$($roomId)]"
+
+            Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Net.Http
+            $httpClient = New-Object System.Net.Http.Httpclient
+            $httpClient.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Authorization", "Bearer $token");
+
+            $stream = $httpClient.GetStreamAsync("https://stream.gitter.im/v1/rooms/$roomId/chatMessages").Result
+
+            $streamReader = New-Object System.IO.StreamReader $stream
+
+            $line = $null;
+            while ($null -ne ($line = $streamReader.ReadLine()))
+            {
+                # Ignore heartbeat message
+                if($line -ne " ") {
+                    $line
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        try {
+            $this.ReceiveJob = Start-Job -Name ReceiveGitterMessages -ScriptBlock $recv -ArgumentList $this.Config.Credential.GetNetworkCredential().Password, $this.Config.Endpoint -ErrorAction Stop -Verbose
+            $this.Connected = $true
+            $this.Status = [ConnectionStatus]::Connected
+            $this.LogInfo("Started streaming API receive job [$($this.ReceiveJob.Id)]")
+        } catch {
+            $this.LogInfo([LogSeverity]::Error, "$($_.Exception.Message)", [ExceptionFormatter]::Summarize($_))
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Public/New-PoshBotGitterBackend.ps1 b/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Public/New-PoshBotGitterBackend.ps1
index 2e1b296..e02c7f7 100644
--- a/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Public/New-PoshBotGitterBackend.ps1
+++ b/PoshBot.Gitter.Backend/Public/New-PoshBotGitterBackend.ps1
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ function New-PoshBotGitterBackend {
         Hashtable of required properties needed by the backend to initialize and
         connect to the backend chat network.
     .EXAMPLE
-        PS C:\> $config = @{Name = 'GitterBackend'; Token = '<API-TOKEN>'}
+        PS C:\> $config = @{Name = 'GitterBackend'; Token = '<API-TOKEN>'; RoomId = '<ROOM-ID>'}
         PS C:\> $backend = New-PoshBotGitterBackend -Configuration $config
 
         Create a hashtable containing required properties for the backend
@@ -34,11 +34,7 @@ function New-PoshBotGitterBackend {
             } else {
                 Write-Verbose 'Creating new Gitter backend instance'
 
-                # Note that [token] is just an example
-                # In a real backend plugin, you would pass any
-                # needed information from $Configuration to
-                # the constructor
-                $backend = [GitterBackend]::new($item.Token)
+                $backend = [GitterBackend]::new($item.Token, $item.RoomId)
                 if ($item.Name) {
                     $backend.Name = $item.Name
                 }
diff --git a/start.ps1 b/start.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..810bddb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# Import necessary modules
+Import-Module PoshBot
+Import-Module C:\github_local\gep13\PoshBot.Gitter.Backend\out\PoshBot.Gitter.Backend\0.1.0\PoshBot.Gitter.Backend.psm1
+
+# Store config path in variable
+$configPath = 'C:\temp\poshbot\Gitter\GitterConfig.psd1'
+
+# Create hashtable of parameters for New-PoshBotConfiguration
+$botParams = @{
+    # The friendly name of the bot instance
+    Name                   = 'GitterBot'
+    # The primary email address(es) of the admin(s) that can manage the bot
+    BotAdmins              = @('gep13')
+    # Universal command prefix for PoshBot.
+    # If the message includes this at the start, PoshBot will try to parse the command and
+    # return an error if no matching command is found
+    CommandPrefix          = '!'
+    # PoshBot log level.
+    LogLevel               = 'Verbose'
+    # The path containing the configuration files for PoshBot
+    ConfigurationDirectory = 'C:\temp\poshbot\Gitter'
+    # The path where you would like the PoshBot logs to be created
+    LogDirectory           = 'C:\temp\poshbot\Gitter'
+    # The path containing your PoshBot plugins
+    PluginDirectory        = 'c:\temp\poshbot\Plugins'
+
+    # You will need to populate this with a Token and RoomId
+    # that you would like this Backend to work with
+    BackendConfiguration   = @{
+        Token              = ""
+        RoomId             = ""
+        Name               = 'GitterBackend'
+    }
+}
+
+# Create the bot backend
+$backend = New-PoshBotGitterBackend -Configuration $botParams.BackendConfiguration
+
+# Create the bot configuration
+$myBotConfig = New-PoshBotConfiguration @botParams
+
+# Save bot configuration
+Save-PoshBotConfiguration -InputObject $myBotConfig -Path $configPath -Force
+
+# Create the bot instance from the backend and configuration path
+$bot = New-PoshBotInstance -Backend $backend -Path $configPath
+
+# Start the bot
+$bot | Start-PoshBot
\ No newline at end of file