Opinion: Unbundling the Feed: HyperTexting's Bet on the Open Web
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By decoupling the social media interface from centralized platforms, Caleb Hailey is attempting to return discovery and monetization power to independent publishers.
The modern digital experience is defined by the 'walled garden.' For years, the scrollable feed—complete with likes, follows, and algorithmic curation—has been the primary gateway to information, but it has come at a cost to the open web. According to reporting from TechCrunch, Caleb Hailey, a 20-year tech veteran, is attempting to decouple these familiar user interface elements from the centralized platforms that currently control them.
His solution is HyperTexting, a new iOS app developed by Hailey’s company, Herd Works. The app functions as a viewer for the discourse already occurring on the open web, leveraging the RSS open protocol under the hood to create a social-media-like experience without the algorithmic manipulation. By allowing users to follow blogs, newsletters, and news outlets with a click, HyperTexting transforms the fragmented web into a cohesive, scrollable stream of content.
From my perspective as a tech columnist, this is more than just a UI experiment; it is a strategic bet on the 'unbundling' of the feed. For too long, the discovery of content has been gated by a handful of social media giants. Hailey noted to TechCrunch that he was motivated to build the app after witnessing Twitter shift away from reverse chronological order and begin deranking links. When the discovery mechanism is controlled by a central platform, the monetization power shifts away from the creator and toward the gatekeeper.
HyperTexting attempts to shift this power back to the open web by integrating publishing directly into the consumption experience. The app allows users to connect their own websites—whether built via WordPress, Ghost, or static site generators like Hugo and Hailey’s own HyperTemplates—and post updates as easily as sending a text message. These posts are then surfaced in the feeds of those following the relevant sites, bypassing the need for a centralized social media intermediary.
This approach addresses a long-standing friction point in the creator economy: the trade-off between reach and ownership. While RSS has historically powered the web, TechCrunch notes that mainstream consumers have largely rejected RSS readers, citing the 2013 shutdown of Google Reader as a pivotal moment. HyperTexting’s gamble is that users don’t actually love the *platforms* of Big Tech, but they do love the *format* of the feed. By providing the interface of a social network without the centralized control, Hailey is positioning the World Wide Web itself as the ultimate decentralized social network.
While the app is currently a free download, Hailey has indicated to TechCrunch that future revenue may come from premium subscriptions or a single daily sponsored post. If successful, HyperTexting could prove that the most effective way to disrupt the walled gardens is not to build a new platform, but to give users a better way to navigate the one that already exists.