# The HyperTexting Press Kit

## Table of Contents

This archive contains the following resources for your convenience:

* [Introduction to HyperTexting](#introduction-to-hypertexting)
-- [Why now?](#why-now)
-- [Why "HyperTexting"](#why-hypertexting)
-- [Why not "RSS"?](#why-not-rss)

* [App Information](#app-information)
-- [App Details](#app-details)
-- [App Release Date(s)](#app-release-dates)
-- [App Pricing](#app-pricing)

* [Developer Information](#developer-information)
-- [Developer Name](#developer-name)
-- [Developer Introduction](#developer-introduction)
-- [Developer Contact](#developer-team)

* [Resources](#resources)
-- [Media (Screenshots & Videos)](#media-screenshots-videos)
-- [Mentions](#mentions)
-- [References](#references)

Last updated: July 6, 2026

+++

## Introduction to HyperTexting

HyperTexting is a modern take on the RSS feed reader. It supports [RSS], [Atom], [JSON Feed], and [OPML]. 

What makes HyperTexting different from the last 20 years worth of RSS feed readers? **Our mission statement: to make it easy to [Make HyperText][01].** Posting to your website should be _easier_ than posting on social media. HyperTexting is our attempt at packaging web _publishing AND subscribing_ into a single experience that looks and feels similar to how most people consume news feeds today: via social media. 

To achieve that level of familiarity requires more than just a departure from the three-column, inbox-style interface that is so common among traditional "RSS feed reader" apps. It means taking inspiration from social media profiles, responses, mentions, threads, video, discovery, and even personalization. It also means embracing user privacy and the unique attributes of the open web that social media platforms ~~can't~~ refuse to give us. And as mentioned above, it should also lower the barrier to entry for _publishing_ in addition to subscribing.

### Why now?

On September 5th, 2026 the Facebook News Feed will turn 20 (!) years old. That is an important milestone because the News Feed marked a seminal moment in internet culture history. The entire internet is all feeds all the time. Your best friend's Instagram page is a feed, but so is the home page of the [@nytimes.com](https://nytimes.com). The primary way we consume feeds is in a "timeline" – a scrollable list containing posts from all of the feeds we follow. Or at least it used to be. These days **less than half of the content in our timelines is from feeds we follow**. First it was the ads, then the algorithms, then the AI slop. 

Social media is literally on trial for harming users. Algorithm awareness is trending. ["Tuning" the algorithm][10] is not a viable solution. The only way to solve this problem is to **escape the algorithm**. 

### Why "HyperTexting"?

HyperTexting is a portmanteau of "hypertext" and "texting". Hypertext is a foundational building block of the world wide web. Text messaging is something more than five billion people do every day. Both began with simple text contents before expanding into links, images, audio, video, and more. If we succeed in putting them together, HyperTexting should feel like a natural description for the action of sending (publishing) and receiving (subscribing) to hypermedia. 

Learn more about how HyperTexting got its name [on the HyperTexting blog](https://hypertexting.com/blog/hypertexting-is-for-hypermedia/).

**Feature Spotligh**

HyperTexting blurs the lines between traditional feed readers and modern social media user experiences:

* **Profiles**. Tap the profile portion of any post to view the corresponding website profile, including a recent posts timeline, media attachments, following, external links, and more. 

* **Threads**. When viewing a post, HyperTexting will show you posts from other feeds you follow in a thread layout, making it easy to follow the discourse across multiple disparate feeds. 

* **Deep Links**. When a post contains links to other feeds you follow, HyperTexting will attempt to open the linked post or profile view in-app. How far into your network will you explore? 🕳️

* **Trending HyperLinks**. Catch up on the top stories with Hot Hyperlinks, a personalized list of the top-100 most linked pages from the feeds you follow. Inspired by Nuzzel (RIP).

* **Feed Previews**. Tapping links to new feeds will open the feed in a profile view, making it easy to preview feed contents before you decide to follow.

* **The Composer**. Support for posting to [HyperTemplates](https://hypertemplates.net), [WordPress](https://wordpress.org), [Ghost](https://ghost.org), and [Hugo](https://gohugo.io) websites is coming soon (H2'26). 

### Why not "RSS"?

One of our goals with HyperTexting is to extend the reach of "RSS readers" – _without using the word "RSS"_ – beyond the group of people who have already known and loved them for the past 20+ years.

RSS is a tremendous success story. Without it, the expression ["Wherever you get your podcasts"][11] would not be possible. And yet it is! But why has podcasting found product-market fit in a way that "RSS readers" have not? Why don't more people know that RSS readers are [a compelling alternative][12] to algorithmic social media newsfeeds? Is it a branding problem, a product problem, or something else? We think the answer is much bigger and more complicated than HyperTexting or this Media Kit. But we also stronly believe we can get there by starting small. 

In order for "RSS" to reach escape velocity in the way that Podcasting has, we need to stop saying "RSS". That's why, if you look closely, you'll see that we have gone out of our way to avoid using terms like "RSS", "Atom", "JSON Feed" or "OPML" in the HyperTexting app and marketing copy. We love these technologies – without them HyperTexting would not be possible – but we are trying to reach an audience that is more interested in the "why" than the "how".

If you plan to write about HyperTexting we would love to link to it, but featured links from hypertexting.com will be to articles that avoid or limit the use of these technical terms. 

+++

## App Information

### App Details

* **App Name:** HyperTexting
* **App Store URL:** https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hypertexting/id6744946286
* **App Categories:** News, Social Networking
* **App Privacy:** Data Not Collected. See: https://hypertexting.com/privacy/  
* **Supported Devices:** iPhone w/ iOS 18+ (iPad and Mac coming H2'26)
* **Marketing Website:** https://hypertexting.com  
* **Blog:** https://hypertexting.com/blog 

### App Release Date(s)

* **Announcement:** March 4, 2026 (["Welcome to the Feediverse"][04])
* **Public TestFlight available:** March 24, 2026 ([TestFlight][05])
* **Pre-orders available:** March 25, 2026 (["Introducing HyperTexting"][06])
* **App Store launch:** June 25th, 2026 (["Now available on the App Store"][07])
* **Private "Composer" TestFlight:** coming Summer 2026

### App Pricing

HyperTexting will be free to download thanks to the generous support of our paying subscribers and sponsors. 
HyperTexting will also offer an in-app purchase (coming soon) to disable sponsored posts and unlock additional features with **$4.99 monthly** and **$29 annual** subscriptions, or a **$99 lifetime** purchase.

Visit [hypertexting.com/sponsors](https://hypertexting.com/sponsors/) to learn more about the weekly sponsorship program.

+++

## Developer Information 

### Developer Introduction 

HyperTexting is developed by Herd Works, an independent app developer that is building **"Pocket-worthy productivity tools for the human herd"**. The company was formed in November 2022, and is focused on delivering productivity apps for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the web. The company's flagship applications are HyperTexting, and [HyperTemplates][02] - a pure-HTML templating system and static site generator. Herd Works is also the maker of [The Magic Highlighter](https://themagichighlighter.com) Safari Extension.  

Herd Works is based in Portland, Oregon and was Founded by Caleb Hailey, the former Co-Founder & CEO of Sensu, Inc (acq. Sumo Logic). 

**Learn more**: https://herd.works/blog/starting-up/

### Developer Contact

For more information, please contact Caleb Hailey:

* **Email:** caleb@herd.works  
* **Signal:** [@calebhailey.01](https://signal.me/#eu/a7KtUrreSTdcF8CGeCuD20p6LLhCM3ZsW3E1OuY8-YAAWEz88KVGI797xaBLYygF)
* **Discourse:** [@calebhailey.com](https://hypertexting.community/u/calebhailey.com)
* **FaceTime:** caleb@herd.works  
* **RCS, SMS, or Voicemail:** [+1 855-521-HERD (4373)](sms:18555214373)  

+++

## Resources

### Media (Screenshots & Videos)

See attached `/media` directory for screenshots and video resources. 

This press kit is updated periodically at [hypertexting.com/downloads/press-kit.zip](https://hypertexting.com/downloads/press-kit.zip).

### Mentions

Link or **@mention** us wherever you post!

* **Website:** https://herd.works
* **Bluesky:** [@herd.works](https://bsky.app/profile/herd.works), [@makehypertext.com](https://bsky.app/profile/makehypertext.com), or [@calebhailey.com](https://bsky.app/profile/calebhailey.com)
* **Mastodon:** [@herdworks](https://mastodon.social/@herdworks),  [@makehypertext](https://mastodon.social/@makehypertext), or [@calebhailey](https://mastodon.social/@calebhailey)
* **YouTube:** https://youtube.com/@herdworks  
* **TikTok:** https://tiktok.com/@herdworks  
* **Instagram:** https://instagram.com/herdworks  
* **Twitter:** https://twitter.com/herdworks  
* **GitHub:** https://github.com/herdworks or https://github.com/calebhailey

### References

* Mission statement landing page: https://makehypertext.com
* Static site generator: https://hypertemplates.net
* Product marketing website: https://hypertexting.com
* Community website: https://hypertexting.community
* App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hypertexting/id6744946286

<!-- Links -->
[01]: https://makehypertext.com  
[02]: https://hypertemplates.net  
[03]: https://hypertexting.com
[04]: https://hypertexting.community
[05]: https://hypertexting.com/blog/welcome-to-the-feediverse/
[06]: https://testflight.apple.com/join/kAETWZud
[07]: https://hypertexting.com/blog/introducing-hypertexting/
[08]: https://hypertexting.com/blog/app-store-launch/
[09]: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hypertexting/id6744946286 
[10]: https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/reels-algorithm-control
[11]: https://www.anildash.com/2024/02/05/wherever-you-get-podcasts/
[12]: https://www.citationneeded.news/curate-with-rss/
[RSS]: https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification
[Atom]: https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4287.txt
[JSON Feed]: https://www.jsonfeed.org/version/1.1/
[OPML]: https://opml.org
