Survon Narcisse wishes to simplify that which is simple, to abbreviate that which has already been abbreviated.
If u cn rd ths, thn u wll ndrstnd.
The 42-year-old Tacoma native has developed an app – or application – for smartphones. Actually, the app was developed by a for-hire team overseas. But it was Narcisse’s idea.
In its first iteration, the app makes the texting of 46 common phrases easier than the texting already is.
Too busy to type “let’s do lunch soon”?
Just type “LDLS”. The person who receives the message will see the words in full.
“Where are you?”
“WAY.”
“I think that people like to like things that are simple, that they can understand,” Narcisse said last week at the Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade condominium development, where he serves as a Realtor and site agent.
“I’m always responding to texts and emails,” he said.
And now, thanks to his free-to-download app, that responding is easier than it was.
He asked himself, “What can I create to minimize texting for people who need to get a message out?”
“A couple of years ago, I was always texting, and now, as I get increasingly older, it’s becoming increasingly harder.”
It’s the volume of calls, and being able to spell correctly, he said.
So he figured, “Let me put together phrases people can utilize, just press a couple of buttons and get the message out.”
“WU” for “What’s up?”
“BT05” for “Be there in five.”
“CTRN” for “Can’t talk right now.”
“WTHAY” for “Where the (heck) are you?”
Narcisse had the idea but, admitting that he not technically talented, he did what most people do in the post-intellect age.
He Googled it – searching for “how to create a mobile app.”
And got more than 53 million choices. He settled on odesk.com, a clearinghouse of sorts for programming subcontractors.
“There is a tremendous amount of resources out there you can just tap into,” he said. “You can just describe what you want your app to do.”
He wanted “a simple acronym dictionary for people who are on-the-go.”
Narcisse received responses from contractors in China, the United States and India. “One of the Indians was more proactive,” he said. “They sent me samples of apps they’ve done for universities.”
Using PayPal, he sent 20 percent of the total cost as a down payment with an agreement to send the balance when the project was complete.
A few days after sending his idea he received a Beta version.
“They sent me the source code. I’m on my laptop, I’m able to test it,” he said. “It felt good. I felt like I’m in the game now – the mobile app game. It came out exactly the way I wanted it to. It’s crazy. Anybody can do this.”
Anybody with an idea and, in this case, $2,000 to spend.
“Here’s my plan,” Narcisse said. “It’s a free app. It’s now available to anybody who has a Droid. The iPhone is still in the approval process, but it should come by the end of February. I thought about charging $1, but 70 percent of all apps are free. There’s plenty of space on the app for advertising. I’d like to get in the door of an insurance company. Why wouldn’t someone want to advertise on this? My goal now is to get as many people as possible to get the app.”
As of midweek last week, 122 people – from as far away as Israel and Pakistan – had downloaded his OTGA Directory.
That’s “OTGA” for “On the Go Acronym.”
The next version, Narcisse said, will allow people to make up their own acronyms and related phrases. His philosophy: “You may not need this, but it doesn’t hurt to have it.”
TE.
C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535
c.r.roberts@thenewstribune.com
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