Why I built Tend
My name is Sam and I have a problem. I'm introverted, and busy, and I naturally suck at keeping in touch with people. Throw highly addicting, algorithmic feeds cough YouTube cough, and parenthood into the mix and without realizing it, I can go months without talking to some of my best friends. It's embarrassing, and sad. Maybe a sign of our times?
When I first realized how bad it had become, I tried using spreadsheets as a kind of personal CRM for outreach. But I would forget to check them, and updating them felt weird. Salesforce for my Dad? That is weird.
Then I had an idea, what if I could TEXT myself reminders to reach out? Texts are pushed to me, they're hard(er) to ignore, and they live in the medium I use to contact people anyway. So I built a prototype, tweaked it over weeks and months, and eventually noticed something interesting was happening. I was keeping in touch with people! I was making plans, getting back in people's lives. And I felt more alive. And less alone. And more human.
We're social animals. We're not meant to be sitting in front of screens more than half of our waking days. We're meant to move, and sing and gossip. On my death bed, I'm not going to regret not spending enough time on my phone.
So now I want to share my little tool with other people. I call it Tend (you get it), and it's truly a social app. It's not designed to steal your attention, or make you feel guilty. It's supposed to help you connect. That's it! It may not work for you, but it's easy to try, and it's free. And I'm all ears if you have suggestions for how to make it better. But I really hope it does work, because I believe many of today's problems can be solved with more real-life connection.
Stay friendly.
Best,
Sam Slesinger
Questions? Email hello@tendsms.com.