The future of text messaging is live

July 2021

Few people realize that text messaging is asynchronous because of a technical limitation. The typing indicator was invented in 1999, and it alone consisted of 95% of the traffic on MSN's Messenger Service. However, since then, the typing indicator has become the status quo, not a technical limitation.

People don’t have to wait for each other’s text messages anymore. And we’ve been testing out a way to do exactly that. It’s pretty fun so far and makes us feel way more connected to the people we talk to.

There are plenty of remote, real-time, synchronous communication apps for video chat, phone calls, audio, and live streaming. Think: FaceTime, Zoom, Meet, BIGOLive, ClubHouse, and Twitter Spaces. 

What has been missing until today is synchronous text messaging. In all other messaging apps, you send messages asynchronously and hope that someone will respond. Sometimes you even see the typing indicator, but then the other person decides not to send the message. At a fundamental level, texting has been the same as all other asynchronous communication such as emails and letters: full of delays.

We developed Bop Me to solve this problem. When you message on Bop Me, you know when the other person is in the chat and can literally see the other person typing. No more typing indicators. The text appears letter by letter, just like speaking in an in-person conversation. It feels very alive, as if you’re sharing the same thought process. You can interrupt each other, interject your opinion, and finish each other’s jokes, whether you’re in a chat with one person or in a group chat. Great for mental health, but also a more effective way to communicate than just about anything–maybe even better than talking in person.

As with an in-person conversation, you and the other person process information together and react immediately to one another. Ideas flow and a narrative develops. You come to conclusions faster because you are thinking together. You get a better sense of the other person’s emotions and expressions, and genuinely feel better and more connected. 

We’re excited to have you try Bop Me. We’ve been iterating on it since last summer, and think we’ve come up with an experience that can make a significant positive difference in our day to day lives. We’ve found it to be especially useful for close friends, couples, and families, but imagine it can be effective among colleagues and other use cases.