What's this "Yik Yak" all About?

Yik Yak is a new social media platform where users can post anything they want, anonymously. I like to think of it as an "anonymous Twitter". This platform is known as "hyper-local", meaning that it will only show posts that are from users within 5 miles of you.

This new and popular app was created by two Furman University students, Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington. In just three months, this app has become extremely popular and now has over 100,000 users. Over 15,000 "yaks" (or posts) are put up each day.

The app has become increasingly popular on college campuses, and I have actually downloaded it myself. I don't check it as frequently as I check Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, but if I am bored I'll scroll through. In my opinion, the app is used very immaturely. The majority of the posts I see are inappropriate and about sex, drugs, or alcohol. Some of the posts are funny though, especially if I know what the person is talking about or referring to.

http://www.netfamilynews.org/34982

On the right is a picture of the Yik Yak logo. The left picture is a screenshot from my phone of what the app looks like. This can also give you a glimpse of what types of things people "yak", and in this case it is people from the local area and WNE!






Yik Yak in a Negative Light 
There have been a few bullying issues already because of this app. Since posts are anonymous, it is very easy for people to post mean and nasty things. According to MassLive, "critics have compared it to the on-line equivalent of graffiti found in a bathroom stall".

In addition to bullying, people have even used Yik Yak to post threats. Just this week, there was a threat posted by someone in Ludlow (right near here!). Ludlow High School teamed up with the Ludlow Police Department to take action and arrest the individual.

Given all of this information, I do not think Yik Yak will ever become as popular of a social platform as Twitter or Facebook. It will most likely stay around and remain popular for a few more months, and then students will probably get bored with it and move on to the newest app. The bullying and threat issues will probably keep people from continuing to use this app as well.


Sources:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/heres_a_question_what_the_heck.html

http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/yik-yak-is-an-anonymous-messaging-app-aimed-at-college-campuses/