At 7:22pm my husband returned to our apartment after a busy day of all things tech.
5 minutes later we were sharing our first ever ‘Thumbkiss'.
Okay, I'm guessing that sentence needs an explanation…
Zee attended the Y Combinator demo day where a bunch of cool new tech start ups were demonstrating their latest products.
One of those products was Pair, a free iPhone messaging app designed with the sole purpose of connecting two people.
An ingenious and intimate form of social media where the focus is no longer on how many followers you have or how witty your status updates are but about quality interactions with the one you love.
Here's the blurb:
Pair…makes it easy to share the little things in life with each other. It creates a timeline just for the two of you, where you can post cute video messages and photos that no one else will see. You can also chat, share sketches, share your location, and even let your partner know that you're thinking of them with just the push of a button. If your partner has a Facetime account, you can easily switch from text chat to video chat from inside the app.
If you're both online at the same time, you can sketch together, as well as ThumbKiss* – a feature that let's you see where your partner is touching their screen so you can touch the same spot and make both phones vibrate simultaneously. Set reminders for your anniversary or your partners birthday, and share a to-do list to make sure your partner doesn't forget the milk!
*Thumbkisses have to be experienced to be believed!
Most modern couples use a variety of ways to communicate (phone calls, SMS messages, Skype, Facebook messages, Twitter DMs, Facetime, Instagram etc.), especially those in long distance relationships. Pair makes staying connected much easier by having everything in one place.
It's neatly designed and simple to use. Zee I had a lot of fun testing out all the features ~ I'm sure the novelty of Thumbkisses and silly sketches will wear off soon but there are some practical uses for the app that I can see us using for a long time such as the shared location feature.
I also think it's perfect for couples planning their wedding ~ share your wedding to do list with one and other and cross off tasks once they're completed. Send photos of cakes / bridesmaids' dresses / suits / ties etc or video footage of bands / venues etc. when you're apart and get immediate responses. You'll also have a timeline of your messages and photos to return to in the future if you need to refresh your memory.
You could leave a special video message for your partner the night before / morning of your wedding telling them just how much you love them and can't wait to marry them! How wonderful would that be to look back on?
Starks Photography via Wedding Bee
Only time will tell if this is the next big thing in social media or a novelty app but I haven't been this excited about an iPhone app since Instagram ~ hence the rather random post.
(I think it was the Thumbkisses that did it for me. They are just so. darn. cute.)
What do you think of the concept? Have you tried Pair yet?
Find out more about Pair on its blog and find more in depth analysis over on The Next Web.
You can download Pair for FREE here. However, bear in mind that it may be temporarily slow to run due to the sheer number of downloads and interest in the app at the moment!
