You haven’t heard of Yik Yak but it’s about to become your worst enemy (or best friend)

People can be mean. Add the internet and people can be really mean. Add mobile to this equation and you get Yik Yak. Yik Yak is an interesting app that has already been banned in several schools in the US and will likely be banned in more before any changes are made to the app itself.

Imagine a message-board style interface that is based on location. Users can say anything (there’s no login — it’s “totally” anonymous) and then anyone can post whatever they like. Yik Yak. Whether it sounds fun (sarcasm, jokes, observations) or more like a nightmare (think bullying, bomb threats) it could easily destroy a brand as instantly as it could help build them.

As with all apps like Yik Yak, it’s not easy to monitor as it has no API and is difficult to track, trace and respond (indeed, responding could cause more problems than it solves as it is currently pretty driven by mob mentality). But with all the media furore that is happening in the US, it’s easy to forget there is a plus side to these apps.

Personally speaking, I’d like to see more services like this that are anonymous (so people really say what they think/feel) but I understand there must be accountability (protection unless they break the law or in some way require other help).

This means value is created (or is the goal) and we at least attempt to help and be better.

Let’s take a real-world (but made up) example: a restaurant owner using Yik Yak sees that people are leaving comments about the state of the front area — the owner has two options: i) clean it up or ii) leave it but at least now he knows how to be better.

This example is overly simplistic (and the system is open to abuse) but if people use anonymity productively (along with some irritations or bad behaviour) the ability to be better is certainly there. In essence, Yik Yak (like Thumb, Jelly, etc) all demonstrate a deep desire to express, ask questions, share observations and “know”.

If you see Yik Yak and other apps of the same ilk as annoyances and useless technology then you might be missing out on a massive opportunity to serve customers better and make things better.

The question is: Are you going to “ride the Yak” or be trampled by it?