On my first day of college, I discovered YikYak. I was told that it was an app everyone on campus used. Without knowing much about it, I downloaded it to see what it was about. Now, one month in, it is my main source of information.
At least once a day, I find myself reading the distinct thoughts and opinions of UMass students in a matter of seconds. You can find anything on it: news, entertainment, how good the food was at the dining hall, or the diabolical number of people wearing flip-flops when it’s 50 degrees. But it’s not just at UMass; YikYak dominates the majority of universities all over the country. This led me to think: how did this app become so synonymous with universities? What makes it such a unique form of communication in the college setting?
The Ones Behind it All
At Furman University, located in Greenville, South Carolina, undergraduate students Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll met at their fraternity. Together, they learned how to code apps through Furman’s courses and began to understand the way that they functioned. Their deep interest in this field made them want to create one of their own. However, their respective majors of finance and biology were not exactly correlating with their coding project. Because of this, they decided to steer away from their intended career path after graduation to focus on YikYak; Buffington put his finance goals on hold and Droll dropped out of medical school. With these decisions, it meant that they were serious about their app creation.
Creating the Platform
After their graduation in 2013, the two creators observed that Twitter was one of the most popular social media applications throughout the young adult community. With this in mind, they decided to make an app of their own that drew inspiration from Twitter. Their creation had one unique difference, though: all posts made were anonymous. This intrigued the audience, as their voices could be heard but their identity could remain hidden. Buffington and Droll launched the app in November of 2013 for Furman University. This invention trended throughout campus, causing it to spread to other universities. Not only did it go to universities, but it also started to trickle down into some high schools as well. Although this made the app successful at first, it led to some difficulties.
Obstacles Along The Way
With every project, there are always a few unforeseen setbacks. Once the app reached high schools, its anonymous feature became a serious problem within high school settings. Students were abusing the app to cyberbully others, which created controversy around YikYak. Even worse, dangerous threats were being posted that, if true, could harm others. This resulted in the app being banned from U.S. middle and high schools.
If this wasn’t enough, a legal problem arose when a former classmate accused Buffington and Droll of kicking him out of the company and sued them for one-third of the company, causing another hit to the app’s reputation and leaving it defeated. In 2017, the app was shut down due to the overwhelming controversy surrounding it.
But that’s not the end of its story.
YikYak – Born Again
Four long years after the ill-fated shutdown, YikYak was relaunched to the app stores. Although the time away and the serious hardships made the app not the same as before, it still rose above the controversies and became a top app for college students. With these problems, the app created restrictions and protections to stop these problems from occurring again.
YikYak is an app made by former college students for college students. The app’s perseverance and ultimate success within the young generation send a message to all students out there with a goal: go for it. College is the place to take advantage of the things provided for you and to truly believe in something you are proud of.
If it wasn’t for Buffington’s and Droll’s ambitions and dedication, I would have no idea about Hamp Pizza Joe.
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