Is The Yo App A Sign Of Startup Apocalypse, Or A Genius, Hyper-Simple Messaging Tool?
As you may have heard, there was a big rhumpus this week over the release of a new app. No, we aren't talking about Facebook's Snapchat-like Slingshot. We are talking instead about the amazingly simple--if perhaps not amazing-- messaging app, Yo.
That app, created by Or Abel and already funded to the tune of some $1 million, essentially does one thing only: It allows users to send the word "Yo" to their friends. The service proved popular in its first week--even topping Slingshot in the App Store yesterday, while racking up 100,000 downloads. Abel sees his creation signaling the demise of lengthy push notifications and told us that it "really helps cut through the noise." That may be true but we couldn't help but wonder: Is he a mad genius of marketing who has built something that might change the way we communicate, or simply, well, mad? We turned to three experts in the field to help us figure it all out.
Fast Company columnist Om Malik:
"Yo, to me, feels like The Onion’s take on pointless apps. I think Yo is a symptom of app economy gone completely wrong. Call me old fashioned, but I want my tech startups to solve actual problems."
Verdict: Awful
Sean Flynn, Partner, Shasta Ventures
"What they’ve done well is they’ve got people talking about it. By being so limited-use case, it’s now got people trying it out, testing it out. The question is do they grow beyond that? Unless you know what their future plans are--and I don’t know what their future plans are--it’s hard to say whether or not [the $1 million dollar investment] is justified or not. One investment does not a bubble make, and this is not $20 million; it’s a million dollars. If you actually look at most seed investments, what people are really betting on is the team, in a way, more than the idea. There are very few overnight success stories, and many of these companies go on to iterate multiple times. I think launching with a limited use case is an interesting PR strategy, because it’s at least differentiated in that regard. It gives them an opportunity to do something, hopefully, more interesting and more compelling over time."
Verdict: Eh
Robin Frank, Cofounder, Shorti.org
"I think this could do great things for mankind. Or, I’m not sure.
No, it’s obviously ridiculous in it’s current iteration. But could be a clever way of getting attention for a bigger release. I just hope: 1. Whoever funded it saw things we haven’t seen yet or 2. It's a joke from someone sick of ridiculous apps. I’d imagine getting Yo’d in my Google Glass is like getting bitten by a mosquito. Tiny and annoying."
Verdict: Awful
FINAL VERDICT: AWFUL
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Yo! $1 Million App With 'Security Issues' Hits 300K Downloads
Yo, the monosyllabic texting app with $1 million in funding from high-profile investors and more than 300 thousand users also has a few security holes, TechCrunch reported on Friday. The single-serving app which allows users to send each other an audible "Yo" with a tap on their mobile devices is also surprisingly simple to hack, a Georgia Tech student told TechCrunch. He and his two roommates were reportedly able to access and spam Yo user phone numbers, and send push notifications, substituting any text they wanted for the standard "Yo." App founder Or Arbel confirmed to the tech blog that Yo was, indeed, having "security issues."
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It only took 8 hours to build the app, and the only thing it does is allow you to send the word ‘Yo’ to your friends. To many, it seems like a joke. But its inventor, Or Arbel, is totally serious.
Arbel, who built the app three months ago, has quit his job and moved halfway around the world — from his native Israel to San Francisco — to work on Yo full time. He’s opening an office, hiring staff and seeking “strategic partners.” And oh yeah: He’s already raised $1 million from investors.
So is Arbel right? Is Yo, which he calls “context-based communications,” the future of messaging? Or is investor interest in Yo an unmistakable sign that we are in the midst of another internet bubble?
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Some analysts believe the WhatsApp sale and the flood of venture capital seeking out the next big thing represents a new tech bubble. Hedge fund manager David Einhorn, speaking to the Los Angeles Times recently, said “[t]here is a clear consensus that we are witnessing our second tech bubble in 15 years. What is uncertain is how much further the bubble can expand, and what might pop it.”
During the last tech bubble, in 2000, the Nasdaq Index — which features many technology stocks — lost nearly 80 percent of its value and “Silicon Valley saw 200,000 jobs evaporate overnight.” In the first quarter of 2014 “venture capitalists invested $9.5 billion in 951 U.S. companies,” a level not seen since the last bust.
:-k
