The story behind Jam Messenger, the app that only lets you reply thumbs up or thumbs down.*
When Apple announced iOS 8, one of the features we at De-De were most interested in exploring was Interactive Notifications. With a swipe of an alert or banner, you can perform one of two actions without unlocking your device or leaving another app. The interactivity of an app has been extended to literally every screen you see on your phone. We wondered, what if we made an app in which the core experience is primarily based on this powerful feature?
The idea for Jam Messenger came over lunch: a simple app to send questions to a group of friends, who can then answer “yes” or “no” right from their notifications. The app was designed in a day, and after a twelve-hour hackathon, we had a working prototype.
While iterating, we made a tweak to use a thumbs-up and thumbs-down emoji and realized that we had something bigger than a question-answer app. We think we’ve created a novel form of messaging in Jam, with how easy it is to ping back a reply with just a swipe and a tap. Sure, you can say “yes” or “no” to a question. But you can also like a comment, downvote a bad joke, or just let someone know you read their message. The immediacy of the response creates an experience that is both rewarding and addictive.
Think of Jam as a one-and-a-half-way messaging app. It’s not quite two-way messaging like a traditional chat app (although you can easily send a message back). There are no threads and no chat history, as we want to keep it light and impermanent. It’s also much more useful and intimate than sending a Yo. It hits a sweet spot right in between — minimal, with just enough interaction for people to feel engaged and connected with
one another.
We think we’ve made something special with Jam Messenger. Try it out with your friends and let us know what you think. Drop us a line @ourJam or everythingjam@gmail.com, and check out our press kit at http://jamapp.biz.
*Update 11/17/14: We’ve added a feature to customize your emoji responses.
Download Jam Messenger
Comments welcome on Hacker News and Designer News
