
Twilio's new Notifiy API - coloneltcb
http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/25/twilios-new-notifiy-api-helps-developers-reach-users-across-sms-push-notifications-and-messaging-apps/?ncid=rss
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philip1209
I need to build a notifications service for our application, and it would be
nice if one of my existing tools like Intercom provided the service instead. I
want to be able to send messages of varying levels of urgency - e.g. "send
password reset now" vs. "this message should arrive within an hour and can be
bundled." The service already has communication details - email, phone, push
notification info, maybe even facebook auth. I wish it would intelligently
route to the correct notification method based on each user's responsiveness
(did they open the email?), cost (can I save money by using push vs. sms?) and
available methods (e.g. I don't have a twilio number in their country). An API
for marking messages as read via a UI notification center would be cool too.

Message spam is the worst, and building intelligent routing across
communication methods is becoming a pain.

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ToasterOven
I believe [http://lifecycle.io/#/](http://lifecycle.io/#/) is doing this. You
may want to check them out!

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galistoca
I wonder how this works. Currently there's only a landing page that asks you
to request access so I have no idea.

Do developers integrate Twilio SDK into their apps (similar to Fabric, etc.)?
If so, sounds like a way different model than what they used to do (Basically
you could integrate just by calling their REST endpoint since it was SMS based
and required no installation of any app, but with APNS the only way I can see
this work is if you tightly integrate with Twilio API by using their SDK)

How do they figure out a number is associated with an account? Does this
assume that users will enter their phone numbers when signing up to a service?

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billychia
Hi, I work at Twilio and can answer questions about Notify. Notify is
predominantly a REST API you could access through server-side helper libraries
in your favorite language. We have SDKs for Notify as well that provide
additional functionality (like the ability to notify the user on the device
they were last active one.)

To associate a number (or push registration) with a user you create a
"binding"

More info here:
[https://www.twilio.com/notify/api](https://www.twilio.com/notify/api)

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galistoca
Maybe i'm missing something but isn't this just like Urban Airship? Basically
you need to have an app already in production, and you push through Twilio
instead of directly hitting APNS. I do understand the benefits of having a 3rd
party manage expired device tokens and sending broadcast push, etc. but having
a hard time understanding what's novel about this.

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billychia
Notify has two unique components compared to other tools in the market. First
it is multi-channel- you can send push yes, but also global SMS and
notifications into messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, Viber, and WeChat.
Second, Notify provides orchestrations- fan out, fall back (push first then
SMS if not received), notify on last active or current active device, etc. The
fact that Twilio acts as a registrar is something that was highly requested
from our customer base.

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pc86
TLDR:

> _Here is the scenario [Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson] envisions: maybe a user signs
> up to get SMS from a company (in exchange for a coupon, for example). Then,
> over time, that user also installs the company’s app on two devices. Now,
> push notifications allow you to give that user a far better experience, but
> you don’t want to send both SMS and push notifications to every device the
> user has the app installed on (that would be annoying, after all). With the
> new API, you simply set up a rule to send a push notification to the device
> the user last used (or the one that is currently active) and then fall back
> on SMS if that doesn’t work._

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chillacy
APN (apple push notify service): Apple lets you route a push notification to a
cell phone

FCM (firebase cloud messenger): Google will let you push notifications to
either android devices or iOS through APN, transparently abstracting device
differences away from you

Twilio Notify: Twilio will send either over SMS or FCM, abstracting the
presence of the app install away from you

I know this is a good thing as software gets easier, and I'm aware that all
software works through abstraction, but for web services in particular this
seems like crazy nested service glue.

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pokoleo
Typo: should be "Notify API"

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alexmarcy
Mindy Kaling's character on The Office was ahead of her time. WUPHF!

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antimatter
I could be wrong but wasn't that Ryan's idea?

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benten10
Supposedly originally Mindy's idea, until Ryan stole it from her. She later
threatens to sue him.

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homero
Twilio now needs websockets

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Animats
From the article: _" We want customers to reply to messages because we send
billions of notifications per month and every one of those should be an
opportunity to start a conversation with a customer."_

Billions of notifications per month. That's spam.

Now to figure out some way to reroute them all to the CEO's phone.

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mgkimsal
i think you got downvoted, but... why does it have to be 'spam'?

I get dozens of notifications from various services every day, and I
absolutely gave permission or requested them in every case. I get spam email
and sms, yes, but of the notifications I get... none are spam.

