So I came across this site where we can basically chat through browser, smartphone app, or SMS (yes, even your toaster of a phone will work if you live in the US), as long as you have a mobile phone number to sign up with (which I'm sure 99% of us have). People join in by having the host add them in, though, so it's a bit of a weird set up. Otherwise, it's an interesting way to set up a texting group.