Absolutely :) these are amazing questions, Imane.
1. Is there a story that motivated you to create Twos?
I suffered a lot from depression in college and felt relief through writing. I wrote in a Google Doc, but it eventually became too long and slow. I just wanted a place to write down random thoughts and ideas. I tried Evernote and Apple Notes, but they always felt unorganized. I really wanted days so I could have this history to time travel around and could be reminded of things I wrote based on time (sort of like the photo app timehop). I also felt note apps and social media apps were too black and white. I couldn't easily share things I would write in my notes apps, and the things I wrote on social apps were only public. That spawned the idea for "things." Being able to write down random things privately, but then being able to choose which things I wanted to share with friends and family to stay connected. It's really grown from there with reminders, to-dos, calendar integration, sharing and collaborating on lists. It's truly amazing. And, as you probably know, there are so many benefits to writing. We're helping people learn about themselves, set goals, organize the information they care about, remember their experiences, share those experiences with others. We'll eventually bring back the social side of Twos (we had it in v1, but took it out in v2 and v3 to focus purely on the private side of writing things down), but you will always be writing things down privately and then choosing things you want to share if you'd like.
2. What inspired the logo for Twos? and, what does the red ribbon mean?
The logo was inspired by an inside joke I had with an ex-girlfriend. We would celebrate good things that happened by throwing up a peace sign and yelling "Twooooos." The name also played nicely with the two sides of Twos, private and social. The social "like" button was a peace sign so we were celebrating the things other people shared and spreading peace :). The red ribbon is something people used to do back in the day before technology. They would tie a red thread around their finger if they had something they wanted to remember. Twos is the new way to remember "things" so it's a nice little hat tip to the old way of remembering things.
3. What do you think is the biggest "problem" with productivity apps today as an application developer? (In other words, why are people still struggling to stay on top of their tasks despite these apps?)
The biggest problem is not writing things down in the first place. Our attention is so fleeting that if you don't quickly write something down, you forget what you wanted to remember. A lot of apps are too slow making you not even want to take the time to write something down, telling yourself you'll remember it, which uses up your mental resources, and you'll still forget it, or in order to write something down you have to click around a few times and then you may just forget what you wanted to remember. Another big problem is the amount of apps you need to use to keep track of things. One app for notes, one app for your calendar, you'll have a journal, email, a task manager, an app for reminders, this just makes you feel spread all over the place and when you need to find something you have no idea where you put it. Twos is simple, but extremely powerful because you can use it for every"thing." It's fast so you can quickly write down things you want to remember and it allows people to keep everything organized in one place.
4. As a creator, do you think that a productivity app should be interactive (for eg. forums, stories as in Instagram, inbox options...)? and is there a possibility for Twos to become interactive in the future?
Absolutely. Human connection and relationships will always be important. We've had the social side, which is completely different than any other productivity platform out there, and we're just getting started with collaboration and sharing, but we'll eventually have comments, reactions, groups, etc. It's important to have your own private space to explore, create, get to know yourself, but sharing your experiences and knowledge with others is really what allows us to help others.
5. Finally, what are your best tips for productivity?
Limit distractions. I wake up early and work while no one is asking for my attention. Limit the number of notifications you have on your phone, put your phone away if you can (and use TwosApp.com ✌️😂). Be curious and learn early on, knowledge compounds, and allows you to perform much better later on so read books, watch courses, and build things. Lastly, but most importantly, take care of your health. Mind, body, and soul. Without our health, we can't do anything, which is the opposite of productive. Move your body. Spend time getting to know yourself and what you truly want so you can do the things you care about (you'll enjoy what you do more and you'll do things that are good for you more often).
Imane, these questions were really amazing, I had a wonderful time answering them (in Twos of course https://www.twosapp.com/61fb1b4be07bb8b833a6a799), and I can't wait for your review. Please let me know however I can help and I can't wait to talk more :)
