Hi – Storytelling in Real-Time

Hi has developed a straightforward way for anyone to capture, write, and publish content in real-time. Users are encouraged to “sketch” important moments on their smartphones through a combination of photographs and text, and then use those “sketches” to create thoughtful long-form stories that are published for the world to see.

Join the Hi community and visit Hi’s mobile website on your smartphone to begin. The next time you come across a special moment — maybe a moving scene between children at a park, or a funny event that happened at your office — “sketch” the moment by taking photos or jotting down some descriptive lines of text. Hi lets you attach your “sketches” to specific locations, and calls those combinations “moments.” Bring up your “sketches” and “moments” the next time you’re in front of a computer, and expand on them to create compelling long-form stories. Hi provides you with an optimized editing interface that you can use to compose your work, auto-save drafts, and ultimately publish the stories you’ve written.

The work you publish will be available inside the Hi community, viewable on both desktop and mobile devices. Fellow users who enjoy your stories can subscribe to automatically receive updates about any future pieces you post via email. Users can also browse “moments” by location, zeroing in on all the content posted from destinations like Estonia, Finland, and Latvia within the Hi community.

Practical Uses:

• Quickly jot down notes about a particular scene you just witnessed
• Search for great travel writing by semi-professionals
• Publish a story about your sister’s wedding
• Invite readers from around the globe to check out your work

Insider Tips:

• Use your smartphone to quickly snap photos and jot down text
• Hi’s editing system auto-saves a user’s work
• Users can subscribe to receive other users’ stories via email
• Moments are cataloged by location

What we liked:

• Hi’s editing and publishing platform is streamlined and easy to operate
• Writers don’t have to worry about formatting or laying out their text and photos
• People can use Hi to discover talented writers in specific locations
• Hi places an emphasis on long-form writing

What we didn’t like:

• Hi doesn’t yet have an iPhone/Android app

Alternatives:

• Medium – https://medium.com

Company Info:

• Launched: July 2013 (Beta)
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
• Founded by: Craig Mod and Chris Palmieri
• Web site: https://sayhi.co

Costs:

• Free