did you consider having the add/select friend screen also be the place to begin typing? would eliminate need for editing page and on the add/select friend screen would elim 'Text name' button and friend list could slide up as keyboard appears.
I'm excited to see someone doing this. The group messaging/broadcast usecase kind of reminds me of what drove a lot of early Twitter activity. Though it's no longer really as relevant on Twitter as audiences have scaled. Time to reinvent! :)
The Pitch
Self-Quarantine Book Club
Strikingly