Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington attended college together at Furman College in South Carolina. When the graduated in 2013 they decided they wanted to to make an app. The first thing they made was a social poll product named Dicho. It didn’t go over to well. There next idea materialized into the popular social application called Yik Yak.
The App
Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington launched Yik Yak in November 2013. Yik Yak is a local anonymous bulletin style application that was designed with college campuses in mind. When users download the app they are asked only for their phone number. There is no email, name, or birth date questions asked. Users can immediately post anything they want anonymously and see what other local users have posted. Yik Yak posts are limited to 200 characters and can be seen by people within a physical 1.5 mile radius of the poster.
For Good or for Evil?
Yik Yak has been widely criticized for being a hotspot for cyber bullying. Potential investors have even turned Yik Yak down for that reason. This should be a concern but its unique design allows other users to remove potentially distasteful or insignificant Yaks. When a Yak gets five down votes or is reported twice, it is removed from sight. Its unlikely that malicious Yaks will remain visible for longer than a few minutes because of the police action of the other users.
Significance
I think Yik Yak is a very interesting idea. Right now it is gaining popularity extremely quickly and is at most colleges in America. At some small schools, up to eighty percent of students use the app. Buffington compared his app’s position with Snap Chat when it was first spreading. Many people figured Snap Chat was just a sexting app but it has become a much more positive thing. There is hope that Yik Yak will not be just a place for gossip and bullying. We shall see.
Article from businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/yik-yak-raises-10-million-2014-6
Yik Yak home
I think this a very relevant blog post with yik yak sweeping over GCC. Yik Yak has become a very polarizing but widely used. Whether it is a hub for bullying or a place for students to vent their thoughts it is yet to be seen but from an innovation process it is on point. These two students realized an opportunity to innovate and address a college student problem and capitalize on it. I know I personally use and enjoy The Yak and am amazed at the speed it swept the nation. Yik Yak is definitely an example of the 1/1 rule.