Existing platforms like Facebook, Messenger, iMessage, and Slack are some of the most popular conversational platforms/applications in the world today. One thing all these platforms have in common is that their responses are stacked vertically with one response following another. Linear spatial arrangements are inherently limiting and diverge from the nuance of in-person conversations.
Converge is an attempt to create a medium that mirrors the non-linearity of in-person conversations.
Conversations branch out, delineating subtopics spatially. This allows the conversation to be more surveyable, and individual topics can split off into their own subtopics.
Rather than replying to the whole of a previous message, a reply is always tied to a specific, highlighted section of a message.
By doing this, Converge elicits more explicit topic demarcation. Positioning responses always adjacent from the point of reply cements their association.
As replying requires highlighting the relevant prior passage, Converge can show a compact view with only the passages determined by the discussants as most relevant to the continuing conversation.
