Introducing HyperTexting: Transforming the Open Web into an Engaging Social Media Feed!

A new application called HyperTexting simplifies web browsing, making it as effortless as scrolling through social media feeds like Facebook or X. Now available for iOS, the app also seeks to streamline the process of updating personal websites, akin to sending a text message.

The creator of this innovative tool, Caleb Hailey, draws from his two decades in tech to recall a time when the internet encouraged individual ownership of domains and personal content creation. This vision, however, shifted with the rise of social media platforms.

“Social media became the go-to for creating pages and posting content, overshadowing the original idea of individual websites,” Hailey shared in a recent discussion. “And that’s how things evolved.”

Beyond merely gathering personal conversations and connections online, social media has also shaped user interface norms for consumer apps, introducing features such as scrollable feeds and user profiles, along with functions for following, liking, and commenting.

HyperTexting incorporates these familiar elements, enabling users to discover and follow individual accounts, news sources, blogs, and newsletters, all presented in a seamless scrolling format similar to contemporary social media feeds.

Hailey conceived HyperTexting after witnessing the decline of Twitter’s user experience over the years.

“Twitter used to be an excellent platform for discovering and sharing content, but its focus shifted towards growth, and it moved away from a reverse-chronological timeline,” he remarked, noting that links have been deprioritized, detracting from the experience.

During the COVID pandemic, he experienced the phenomenon of “doom scrolling,” which further fueled his disillusionment with social media.

“I ended up uninstalling all my social media apps,” Hailey recounted, explaining how he returned to an old RSS reader app, NetNewsWire, to stay updated with news. Simultaneously, he was inspired to develop a static website generator tailored for iPhones.

“I realized that my various interests could merge into a single product that resonates with a broader audience, addressing the long-standing issue of why more people don’t engage with RSS,” Hailey said.

This realization led to the creation of HyperTexting, which utilizes RSS technology behind the scenes but does not emphasize it in its branding, allowing users to easily update their own websites.

“This app combines the experiences of publishing and subscribing and serves as a portal to the ongoing conversations within the open web,” Hailey explained.

For context, RSS is a foundational open protocol supporting various web products, including WordPress blogs and podcast feeds.

While using an RSS app like NetNewsWire or Feedly might be a better option for those who extensively read online, like journalists, common web users tend to prefer scrolling feeds, akin to those of social media platforms.

Various efforts to popularize RSS readers among mainstream users have largely failed, exemplified by Google terminating its Google Reader app in 2013, leaving no standout replacements in its wake.

In addition to exploring and following different websites, reading ad-free articles, and listening to podcasts, HyperTexting also allows users to link their own sites, such as WordPress blogs or Ghost newsletters, or even custom-built static sites.

This functionality permits users to contribute to topics on their own websites rather than centralized social media platforms. Their posts will then be linked to their original sources and visible in the feeds of others following those sites.

The app also features an “Explore” section to highlight trending content across the web, reminiscent of earlier tools that showcased popular discussions.

An optional Safari extension allows users to add new websites to their HyperTexting feed while browsing.

“My 20 years in technology have shown me how complicated things can become, fueling a desire to reinvent the wheel. HyperTexting is an attempt to simplify that,” Hailey reflected.

“Instead of constantly trying to play catch-up with dominant platforms, let’s leverage an already established decentralized network: the World Wide Web,” he concluded. “Let’s utilize that.”

Developed by Hailey’s team at Herd Works, the HyperTexting app is available for free on iOS. Future plans may include optional premium features or a daily sponsored post to support its development.