This is caricature, but based in reality: https://xkcd.com/1810/ https://xkcd.com/1810/ - SMS, like email, is ubiquitous. Unlike email, it doesn't even require

This is caricature, but based in reality: https://xkcd.com/1810/ https://xkcd.com/1810/ - SMS, like email, is ubiquitous. Unlike email, it doesn't even require a data connection, just a cellphone signal. (Yes, this is a thing, even in supposedly civilized countries) Unlike email, it doesn't even require a feature phone - even the dumbest of the featurephones can read SMS, from the venerable Nokia 3210 up (yes, even e-mail can be too complex for Grandma). And the other thing - asking Google to stick to a messaging API? Google, which has launched-and-killed more mutually incompatible messaging platforms than I've even managed to use? Not gonna happen. "Use Talk! Use Hangouts! Use Allo! Use TwoCansAndAString!"