The something-like-a-phenomenon app of the moment, Yo, held a hackathon today in San Francisco in an attempt to prove that there can be more to Yo than just the Yo, yo.
One hack that’s already climbed the charts to the number one spot on Product Hunt is YoServerIsDown â€" created by programmers Jarryd Lee and Hayden Lee.
The app, which will send a yo to notify a subscriber when a server goes down (hence the clever name), is one of several mods that are attempting to move Yo from a messaging diversion that’s just silly to something more substantial.
Cowboy Ventures partner Noah Lichtenstein, who attended the event, posted a few of his other favorite hacks to Product Hunt including a “YOasterâ€, which would send a yo when bread finished toasting in a hacked toaster and Yo Radio, which bookmarks songs playing on the radio so a user can access information about the song later from a computer (I think that last one is called Shazam).
Critics deride Yo as the latest evidence that technology innovation has been degraded to an inside joke for programmers and developers â€" who can raise real money for an app developed for nothing more than shits and giggles.
Meanwhile, Yo boosters have spent several hundred words (perhaps too many hundred words) on an ontological quest to get to the heart of Yo.
Venture investor (and husband of one of the world’s best-dressed billionaires) Marc Andreessen calls yo an example of one-bit communication â€" a message that only exists as itself. There is no meaning â€" the medium is, in fact, the message.
What’s refreshing is seeing Yo at least try to move beyond the conversation its detractors and supporters are having by promoting applications that can add additional value.
As any startup can tell you, success is never just about the app â€" it’s about how people ultimately use it.
IMAGE BY Bryce Durbin
No comments:
Post a Comment