If you haven’t heard of the newest social app Yik Yak, you should probably come out from under the rock, dust off the old iPhone, and check it out. Between the constant promoted posts on Twitter and the Yak street team taking over campus (with a Yak and all), the app has used millennial based marketing tactics to focus on their target audience. To be fair, their marketing efforts have been admirable, and have definitely paid off – at least at UO. The app allows user to post anonymously a maximum of 200 characters. If other users like your post, they can “up vote” it – and if they don’t like it, they can “down vote” it. If a post gets 5 “down votes,” it will be deleted permanently. While the app seems to offer a fresh new way for people to share their thoughts anonymously, every new social media platform receives a bit of criticism. Ultimately, no one can predict how far the app will go, but we can still compare the pros and cons and make our predictions for its future!
Cons:
1. People often post the same type of material – so it can sometimes seem like you’re reading the same things over and over again.
2. Many people often post along the lines of the same undesirable topics, such as sex or “bathroom tendencies.”
3. The current feed of Yaks doesn’t hold very many posts. With so many people posting, you can sometimes only see Yaks that were posted within the hour.
4. People don’t always follow the rules of Yik Yak (which I must say are conveniently presented at the app’s introductions), including posting people’s names and discussing inappropriate topics.
5. There has been some criticism that the app could lead to cyber bullying and there has been a recent case of a shooting threat posted on the app at a high school in Ohio.
Pros:
1. The actual design and functionality of the app is great and it seems to run smoothly overall on the technical side.
2. You can only see Yaks posted within a small radius of your location. This keeps the posts personal and relatable.
3. Some posts are actually hilarious.
4. You can earn Yakarma points for being more involved in the app (i.e. “up” or “down voting” and responding to Yaks).
5. The app comes equipped with a link to the Google images search “Yak.”
6. Although you can only participate in Yaks that were posted in your area, you can also peek into other university’s feeds and see what they are talking about.
7. Yik Yak also has featured Yak feeds, such as “Hogwarts” and “Yik Yak Shark Tank,” where you can submit a post to and the fine Yik Yak employees pick the more eligible Yaks to post.
8. Although posts get deleted after a certain period of time, you can still review the Yaks you posted for your own personal enjoyment of noting how many “up votes” you received.
9. It makes the vast world of social media a little smaller and let’s us focus on what’s happening right here in our own community.
10. And finally, their mascot is a YAK – the creativity speaks for itself.
The best way to discover if you enjoy the Yik Yak app is to try it out for youself. It’s free, it doesn’t require an account or password, and it’s easily deletable if it’s not the app for you! Try it out and let us know what you think below!