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Why CellStories?

Because we still think the best place for something wonderful to read is in the palm of your hand and, when you combine the amazing technology of modern web-enabled phones and mobile devices with some of the best short-form writing around, something incredible can happen. Like this!

Why can’t I read these stories from my computer?
Because why would you want to read something amazing while sitting at a desk? Instead, grab a beer and sprawl out on the couch, or take your lunchbreak under a shady tree, and then read. Much better, right? We think so too.

Who’s behind this idea?
CellStories was conceived and built by Daniel Sinker, who was the founding editor of Punk Planet magazine in another life. Thankfully, the death of print meant discovering something much more valuable: mobile publishing. But that previous life also meant that he met a great number of authors, publishers, and other Really Interesting People, many of whom were kind enough to supply some of the great pieces you’ve read.

How can I contact you?
A few ways: through e-mail, our Facebook page, or on Twitter.

What devices work with CellStories?
Definitely the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Google-Android based phones like the G1. But a lot more do too! We’re trying to build up a definitive list, so please help us out by telling us if you can or can’t read the story on your phone.

How come this isn’t an iPhone app?
Three reasons: 1) Not everything needs to be an app. Really! It’s true! 2) Sometimes simple things are best done simply, and building an app isn’t simple. 3) iPhone apps only run on, wait for it, iPhones (and iPod Touches), and there are some great phones out there that aren’t iPhones. We’d like the people that have those to also have a good read.

But an app would let me just click on an icon on my phone’s home screen and boom, be reading something great.
Yes, but didn’t you know you can make a home screen icon for any web page on your iPhone? Oh my god, it’s awesome! Just click on the big plus sign (+) sitting down there at the bottom of the screen and choose “add to home page.” It’ll give you an icon to click as often as the day is long. But, you’ll probably want to do that once you’re on our home page as well, so that you’re not always coming back to this FAQ.

How do stories get chosen?
Mainly by blowing us away. We partner with a number of publishers, reading series, and individual authors to flow great writing our way, so it’s more than one set of eyes picking material. But the guiding principle is: something amazing. Which means that you could totally get picked. So submit!

Anything else you’d like to say?
Why yes, thanks! This was built in Ruby on Rails and I can not begin to thank the many members of that incredible community for their help in answering many questions I posed. Open-source communities are the best communities there are. And, while we’re on the topic of thanks this entire project wouldn’t have been possible without the donations given to CellStories through the amazing website Kickstarter. Getting support from the very audience that we serve is the best feeling ever. For reals.

Are you done?
Really, almost, yes. Just one last thing: you don’t have to register for CellStories or anything like that. But, if you’d want to let us know who you are, give us an e-mail or a Twitter account, it’d let you know that there’s really someone else at the end of the phone. Literally.

Visit the CellStories page.

Follow CellStories on Twitter.

Go to CellStories Facebook page.