文字沟通或许是件麻烦事，Cola想帮你简化这个流程
来源：猎云网（编译：田小雪）
聊天通信在日常沟通交流中发挥着越来越大的作用，但我发现它也有弊端：当想要协调多人之间的沟通时，常常会被一些长段的、复杂的对话难倒。现在，一家叫做Cola的初创企业，希望用“Cola气泡框”的交互方式来代替那些繁杂的来回往返的信息。
举个例子，假设你想发消信与某人安排一个会面时间。以往我们都是来回发送一系列问答，内容诸如“你周五有空吗？”“周五没空，但你看周四怎么样？”来回确认，非常麻烦。
但Cola的创新做法是：你可以直接从App里引入自己的日历，选出三个空闲时间，通过一个气泡框将这三个时间段同时显示出来，让接收方根据他自己的情况来选择一个最合适的会面时间。
此外，Cola还创建了可供分享地理位置或是预计到达时间的气泡框，方便将行程中的每个人联系起来并且创立一些共享的待完成事项清单。当然了，通过短信也可以完成这一系列事项，但还是那句话，麻烦。
公司CEO David Temkin说：“我们认为，这款App能够做成功的关键其实就在于帮人们省去了发送多达10条不同短信的麻烦。”
Temkin之前是AOL（American Online美国在线）的总经理，负责手机以及邮件业务。他与另四位执行主管一同创建了Cola公司，分别为Macromedia 创始人Marc Canter、前Adobe工程师Mike McEvoy、前iPhone工程师Jeremy Wyld 以及Postini创始人Brian Maggi。
Cola官方宣布到目前为止已经筹得了130万美元的资金，投资者分别是线上融资平台AngelList 的创始人Naval Ravikant所属财团、技术主管Brad Garlinghouse、Tribeca Angels等。
Temkin同时还是Laszlo Systems的创始人，这家公司专门创建在线应用程序。我们都知道浏览器是网站的主要平台，所以Temkin认为，同样的道理，信息通讯也会逐渐成为智能手机的主要活动平台。
他说：“在我们现在所生活的世界里称为“电话”的工具，其实是用来发信息的，这才是智能手机这一类电子设备的主要用途。”。
而这也解释了Cola目前在信息功能方面加大研发力度的原因，同时公司进一步的目标是创建一个全新的操作系统，在那里其他的开发商也能够创建Cola的App。
Temkin举了一个例子说，他希望能够有人创建出一个可以即时分享航班信息的Bubble，这样一来机场接机的人就不用多次查看了。他说，我们很明显能够看到，在工作中，包括在游戏中，气泡框的数量都还很少。
Temkin知道他自己并不是唯一一个关注“通信平台化”的人。事实上，Facebook近期也推出了Messenger来与其他产品配套使用，但是它还加入了GIF以及其他一些有趣的内容，这一点与Temkin及其联合创始人们的目标想法相去甚远。
“其实通信是非常庞大的门类。”所以相比于其他公司致力于赋予短信App更多的乐趣，Temkin却看到了一块无人触及的全新领域，即节省人们的时间并且提高人们的工作及生产效率。
目前公司接受其私人测试版App的注册申请。虽然App是iOS版的，但是你可以用气泡框向任何一个人发送短信和链接，不管对方有无App，也不管对方是何种手机系统（安卓手机也可以接收）。
Source:TC
Cola Is Building A Platform To Help You Send Fewer Text Messages
As text messaging takes over more of my communication, I find myself on lots of long and complicated chats where I’m trying to plan and coordinate with multiple people. Now a startup calledCola aims to replace all that back-and-forth with a set of interactive “Cola Bubbles.”
For example, let’s say you wanted to message someone and schedule a time to meet up. Instead of sending a bunch of “Are you free Friday?” “No, but what about Thursday?”-type messages, you can bring up your calendar from directly within the Cola messaging app, select three open time windows, then send a Bubble presenting those three times and allowing the recipient to choose the one that works best for them.
Cola has also built Bubbles for sharing your location/estimated time of arrival, for polling everyone in the thread and for creating shared to-do lists. Yes, you can accomplish most of that with straightforward text messages, but again, it usually takes a bit of back-and-forth.
“We’re winning when we save you the need to send 10 different text messages,” said CEO David Temkin.
Temkin was previously the general manager of AOL Mobile and Mail (TechCrunch is owned by AOL, and Temkin worked on the TechCrunch app). He founded the company with four other executives — Macromedia founder Marc Canter, former Adobe engineer Mike McEvoy, former iPhone engineer Jeremy Wyld and Postini founder Brian Maggi.
Cola is also announcing that it has raised $1.3 million in funding from AngelList founder Naval Ravikant’s syndicate, tech executive Brad Garlinghouse, Tribeca Angels and others.
Temkin was also the founder of Laszlo Systems, a company that built online applications. He argued that in the same way that the browser became the platform for the web, text messaging will increasingly become the platform for activity on the smartphone.
“We live in a world where the things we call phones are not phones — they are for texting, that is the main use of these devices that we call smartphones,” he said. As a result, the Cola team views texting as your basic “line of sight,” while “your peripheral vision is all these other apps.”
That’s why Cola is adding more functionality to text messaging, and why the bigger vision is to build an “operating system” that allows other developers who can create Cola apps (or, in the company’s parlance, Bubbles).
As an example, Temkin suggested someone could create a Bubble for instantly sharing your flight information, so the person picking you up at the airport doesn’t have to look it up. There are less obvious Bubbles in the works, including a game, he said.
Temkin knows that he’s not the only one looking at “the platformizing of messaging.” In fact, Facebook recently opened Messenger to integrate with other products — but adding GIFs and other fun content is pretty far from what Temkin and his co-founders are aiming for.
“Messaging is an enormous category,” he said. So while other companies try to make their messaging apps more fun, Temkin sees a “green field” in saving you time and making you more productive.
The startup is currently accepting sign-ups for its private beta. The app is built for iOS, but you can send messages and links to Bubbles to anyone, even if they don’t have an app, including users with Android phones.
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