It’s Wednesday, July 11, at 1:34 p.m. in the great state of New Jersey , and Jane Smith , whose identity we are protecting for reasons that will become clear in the next six words, needs to go to the bathroom. Shy about using her workplace restroom for this specific, usually-once-a-day type of relief, she decides to reach out to her best friend from college for a little support.

Across the Hudson River, in a conference room at Bustle Digital Group on Park Avenue, it’s Tina Kolokathis’s turn to walk her company’s executives ( of which I am one ) and colleagues through a report. Her boss is on vacation, so it’s Ms. Kolokathis’s “big moment,” as she describes it, to present in her place.

Nature is still calling Ms. Smith, 27, so she gets out her phone.

The person running the meeting is calling on Ms. Kolokathis, 26, so she gets out her laptop. She pairs it with the room’s giant flat-screen TV and begins her presentation. She is poised and confident before this large group, who are settling in to enjoy her 20 minutes in the spotlight.

Miles away , Ms. Smith hits send.

A small gray and blue rectangle slides into frame on the top right of Ms. Kolokathis’s laptop, and thus on the top right corner of the TV, too. It’s an iMessage and it’s from Ms. Smith.