A new website allows smartphone owners who don't know how to respond to a particular text message to crowdsource a response. Site visitors upload suggested responses and the user can then pick his or her favorite.
We've all been there. We receive a text message on our smartphone that we just don't know how to respond to. Whether it is an awkward declaration of love, a nasty piece of criticism or just a garbled mess that doesn't make any sense, sometimes a text message can just leave you stumped as to how to respond.
Up until now, the options in such a case were to ask a friend what they suggest, figure it out on our own or take the cowardly approach and not respond at all. Now, the creators of a new website called Textie have an alternative solution — crowdsource the response. Users can upload the message they don't have a response for and wait for the Textie community to offer suggestions. The service is free, but anxious texters who need immediate feedback can jump to the top of the list for a fee of 99 cents.
For example, one recently-posted text reads: "Hey mom ... I kinda need to talk to u ... So the other day, my boyfriend and I had sex ... It was totally safe ... I know that I'm a little young ... And it was kind of unexpected ... I know once you told me to tell you when that happened so that I could be safe and not be pregnant."
The offered response by a Textie user seems mature and helpful: "First of all, thank you for telling me and I'm glad you took care of being safe. Maybe it's better to talk about this and not write on the phone."
Other suggested responses for texts lean toward the snarky side. Responses to a posted text reading: "I have a huge crush on u. I know I don't know u but still," include "Sorry who are you" and "Who gave you this number?"
This underscores the main problem with the site. In the prior example, is the sender someone the recipient knows or not? It makes all the difference in the world when formulating a response, but we don't have that information. While the premise of the site is interesting and potentially of value, there is an unfortunate absence of context. The text messages are posted without any further explanation of who they came from or any additional details regarding the situation. This often makes it impossible to really understand the scenario the user desires a response to. While long backstories might be cumbersome, there should be some space provided to give important details and context so that the suggested responses are appropriate.
