#hellloapp

I write more about SMS behaviors at Medium and get some great commentary/feedback.  One of the best aspects of a writing/blogging platform like Medium is participation.  It's more of a "curated" blog network, at least for now, which means people are motivated to participate differently than if they are just trolling random blogs.

On Medium, I ask the question "What's wrong with SMS?" - because I have absolutely no idea why the world needed 5 thousand or  more messaging apps that effectively replicate base SMS functionality, and just have to know why the hell so many people sign up.  

These are semi-rhetorical questions, but I find that asking relatively provocative questions online tends to stimulate discussion better than just talking about what you know.  

Helllo is coming soon, and we can't wait to share it with the world.  Mobile technology has created an amazing and unprecedented volume of ways to interact.  In spite of this, most of our communications seem less personal.  Most apps make it easier to communicate, but they also seem to have created more diverse strata of communications.  You have friends you primarily connect with on Facebook, maybe Twitter, there are some you only connect with via Instagram, and then there are those you text.  

Our hypothesis is that SMS has a different and unique impact on our lives. It might be more personal than other forms of text based communication (see: email.)  Observing behavior of those close to me, I witnessed SMS generate a response priority different than email, Facebook, and possibly even phone calls.  (*We've all had someone close to use send our call to voicemail and then text us to see what we wanted.)  I believe that SMS messages are meaningful, and personal, and that we should be leveraging them more.  

Helllo is being created because we wanted an app like this and didn't like our options.  We're funding the project ourselves because we care about the idea.  We will be expanding our beta engagement soon, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.  I couldn't be more excited.