What is RobinLetter?

RobinLetter is a new way to keep in touch. The focus is on making periodic thoughtful updates to small circles of people who care how each other are doing. Rather than posting to a wide group of people, or even to the entire world, RobinLetter focuses on smaller groups who want to stay connected.

RobinLetter provides an alternative to how social media tries to maximize the time you spend there, often by showing you things that will make you angry or upset. And to the feeling everybody is just trying to gain followers and attention, with frequent posters putting on a show, while the others slowly tune out more and more.

RobinLetter was inspired by the “Round Robin Letter”, which was an old-fashioned way for a family (or any other group living far apart) to keep in touch in the days before social media, email, or even cheap long-distance calls. It was basically a packet full of letters that was sequentially mailed to each person in “the Robin”.

When someone received the Robin, they would remove the letter they had included last time they had it, write a new letter talking about developments in their life, then add the new letter to the packet and send it on to the next person on the list. After the last person, it would be sent back to the first person, and a new “flight” of the Robin would begin.

RobinLetter replicates that experience in a modern way appropriate to the internet age via your phone or your computer, while retaining the structure, incentives, and charm of the original.

With RobinLetter, just as with original Round Robins, everyone takes turns contributing updates. This turn-taking format encourages more thoughtful communication rather than just sharing a snapshot of the moment, and ensures that everybody has the opportunity to contribute equally.