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Mobile news apps are dying, but texting is the future, Purple CEO says

Purple runs a messenger bot that texts its users with news about politics, tech and (how meta!) other bots.

Courtesy Rebecca Harris

Unless you work for Snapchat or Uber, people probably aren’t downloading your app.

On the latest episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask, Purple CEO Rebecca Harris said media companies should take a closer look at the messaging apps that are already in everyone’s pockets. Part of the recent wave of "bot" software, Purple texts its users every day with news and information about politics, science/technology and other messaging bots.

"App overload, in general, is an issue," Harris said. "I download apps all the time that I use once and then kind of forget about or never use again. It’s really difficult to get someone to not only discover an app, but to habitually use it."

Hence, the messaging bot: New updates come in automatically and users can respond with certain key words to get more information.

On the new podcast, Harris also talked with Recode’s Kara Swisher and The Verge’s Lauren Goode about why Purple tries to be both conversational and non-partisan. The trio also answered questions from our readers and listeners about the intersection of politics and tech, including Hillary Clinton’s private email server and Donald Trump’s Twitter savvy.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.