back to article Yes. App that lets you say 'Yo' raises 1 MEEELLION DOLLARS

How much would you pay for an app that only allows users to send one word? A couple of quid? Well, investors have forked out a good deal more to fund an app called Yo, which allows users to transmit just the word "yo" and nothing else. The team has already raised $1m in funding and boasts 50,000 users who have sent a total of …

COMMENTS

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  1. Craigie

    I have my own app. It says

    wat

    1. David Webb

      yo wot?

      1. Not That Andrew

        I think we need a yarwellnofine app

  2. mhoulden
    WTF?

    Why? Oh.

  3. 's water music

    yolo

    On the one hand, this shirley portends the end of days, which is probably a bad thing.

    On the other hand, my kids will love this.

    On the third hand, I feel quite jealous of Or for pulling this off.

    1. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Headmaster

      Re: yolo

      "shirley portends"

      She gets my vote for soothsayer of the year.

      1. 's water music

        Re: yolo

        "shirley portends"

        She gets my vote for soothsayer of the year.

        Did not see that coming

        :-0

  4. VinceH

    Someone please kill me now.

  5. NormansLament

    YO

    YO

    1. Shrimpling

      Re: YO

      Yo

    2. bluesxman
      Stop

      Re: YO

      Oy

      1. Matt 21

        Re: YO

        Yo

      2. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
        Facepalm

        Re: YO

        Oy vey!

        1. imanidiot Silver badge
          Coat

          Re: YO

          Yo!

          I feel all dirty now, for getting in on the action. Excuse me while I go take a shower.

        2. Kane
          Trollface

          Re: YO @ I ain't Spartacus

          C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

    3. Captain DaFt

      Re: YO

      "YO"

      Yo Momma!

  6. The Mole

    Bubble.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    YO! Soon to be bought out by my future company...Mamma!

    I believe the two apps have a synergy that could really take them to the next level. By being client focused and incentivising the deliverables of our core competencies we should be pushing the envelope of blue-sky thinking when focusing on our knowledge base.

    I have the name, I have the spiel for the investors...now I'll just write the app tonight and you losers will eat my dust.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Happy

      I'm afraid you have failed to strategically leverage the synergies. And therefore I'm oot!

      1. Anonymous Coward
  8. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    We're finally there...

    ...we've reached Peak Stupid.

    1. Roger Varley

      Re: We're finally there...

      Unfortunately, I very much doubt it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: We're finally there...

        Unfortunately, I very much doubt it.

        Upon reflection you are probably right.

        1. Captain DaFt

          Re: We're finally there...

          Just remember:

          Genius has its limits. Stupidity knows no bounds. - Dhamma Absu

          1. imanidiot Silver badge

            Re: We're finally there...

            Only 2 things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. And we're not fully sure on the universe.

      2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

        Re: We're finally there...

        I still think that if we're seriously to tackle the stupidity surplus that it's hard to beat the anti-smite shield. But some of these start-ups come damn close!

  9. adnim

    25 Cents

    per valid email address perhaps. Anyone read the T&C's or privacy policy? I certainly can't be bothered as my interest in the app and the story ends here.

  10. Yugguy

    Feck me. I'm in the wrong job.

    I need to change careers immediately. Exploiting the terminally retarded seems to be amazingly lucrative.

    Time to create an app called "Meh"

    1. Tom 7

      @Yugguy

      I think there's already a paper app for the terminally angry that nearly uses that name - the Daily Meh.

    2. Frumious Bandersnatch

      re: Time to create an app called "Meh"

      Complete with a "are you sure you want to send?" dialogue where the only options are "no" and "meh". Think of the bandwidth savings if neither option actually sends anything...

      1. Ed 13
        Go

        Re: re: Time to create an app called "Meh"

        Ah, but think of the money you could make if you still charged them as if they had used the bandwidth!

        Keeeeerching!

    3. Gazman

      @Yugguy

      "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the global public"

      After H L Mencken

  11. Katie Saucey
    Windows

    Yo 'tards

    This probably should have been the message app of choice in the movie "Idiocracy".

    1. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: Yo 'tards

      Great film. However it's feeling more and more like an accurate prediction than just a movie...

  12. Crazy Operations Guy

    11 Clicks?

    I count 5, maybe 6. Open text messaging app, tap persons name, tap Y, o, [send]. So I am saving 3 taps, whoop-de-fuckin-doo...

  13. Greencat

    Typo in the app?

    Surely, it should say YOS not YO'S.

  14. Paul Westerman
    Thumb Up

    Best app evar

    PAULWESTERMAN

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nes, Nes, Nes!

    Surely apple has a patent?

    1. TRT

      Re: Nes, Nes, Nes!

      No. It's hosted by Dell. Yo-dell.

      1. AbelSoul
        Trollface

        Re: Nes, Nes, Nes!

        "No. It's hosted by Dell. Yo-dell."

        A-E who?

  16. Sharpy86

    I just checked the Terms and conditions, guess what?

    They don't actually exist. Stock 404 errors when clicking for either the Privacy policy or the Terms of Use.

    I smell a viral prank.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      I saw this on the Guardian website, and assumed it was a joke. I'd rather hoped El Reg would have spotted it, if so, and so was waiting to see if it turned up here. I admit that's as far as my could-be-arsedness levels had reached, so I guess I bow to your keeness in actually looking at their website.

  17. JDX Gold badge

    Arbel moved ... to San Francisco to launch the app ... opened an office and began to hire staff.

    What does he need staff for if he already wrote the app?

    1. TRT

      Re: Arbel moved ... to San Francisco to launch the app ... opened an office and began to hire staff.

      It's probably for tax purposes.

  18. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    "Yo" is for schmucks

    Serious people only use "Nu".

    1. James Micallef Silver badge

      Re: "Yo" is for schmucks

      And people you really don't want to be messing with say "Ni"*

      *at least until you get them a shrubbery

  19. TRT

    It bounced back to me...

    Yo-yo.

  20. CraPo
    Paris Hilton

    Isn't this just...

    poking by another name?

    1. Technological Viking

      Re: Isn't this just...

      I thought "poking by another name" was the unprintable half of the phrase referenced at the end of the article.

  21. Robert Ramsay

    Sign up here...

    to provide VC capital for my new app "Fuckoff" - unique chance to get in at the ground floor!

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    I'm sorry

    I heard the website is suffering under the load of visitors and it's going up, and down and up and back down again like a......

  23. Caaaptaaaain kick arse

    Yo + dough = Yough?

    nice little earner by the sound of it.

  24. Barbarian At the Gates

    Thank you for your message

    I appreciate the time and thought that you put into your recent communication to me. It was very insightful and pertinent to my current situation, and after many moments of contemplation, I believe I was able to comprehend the full depth, meaning, and context of the sage word that you sent me.

    I don't know what I did for you recently that you would deem me worthy of taking the time out of your busy schedule to click twice. But thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is generous outpourings of time and effort such as this that make my time on this hunk of rock, speeding through near vacuum at the speed of 108,000 km/h, have meaning.

    Sincerely,

    My Middle Finger

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I want an app that says

    "Yo, ding dong man, ding dong ding dong yo!"

    1. Roger Varley

      Re: I want an app that says

      Nice try - but I think you'll find that prior art shows that it's actually "Ying Tong, Ying Tong, Ying Tong, Ying Tong, Ying Tong Iddley Po"

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I want an app that says

        Ah ha, so that's where 'Weird Al' found his inspiration?

  26. Stevie

    Bah!

    1978 thinking: Keyboard macro

    2014 thinking: Megabuck kickstarted app.

  27. Petrea Mitchell
    Coat

    So what...

    I want The App That Says "Ni".

  28. benito darder oliver

    First thought...

    Idiocracy is already here...

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm baffled

    ELEVEN clicks to send a text saying 'Yo'? What kind of Heath-Robinson device are you sending text messages from? Mine (a practically antique Blackberry) only requires 8, and that's including finding the address of a friend.

    Anyway - I forsee a market for a counterapp that sends the word 'of' spelt backwards. I think I've patented it, so anyone that runs with the idea and makes some dosh from it can think of sending me some money.

    Ah - I see Mr Ramsay beat me to it - in spirit, at least. Good luck with your venture, sir!

  30. flingback

    What a load of old B*****KS!

    These are sad times we live in. I fear for the next generation, and the one after that. At some point, if there is any intelligence left someone will wake up and think that there is a big wide world if you look up from 'YO'ing your equally dopy friends. God I feel old.

  31. Herby

    I've got the string...

    So, you have the Yo-Yo. What now?

    Maybe it is a way to send secret messages and other stuff. What can they encode doint this.

    Me? I can do a few tricks (still, 50+ years later) on a Yo-Yo!

  32. xperroni
    Facepalm

    Fools, money, etc.

    But I have to admit, this brings the concept to a whole new level.

  33. DropBear
    Trollface

    Naaah, I got a better idea...

    ...you know where the real money is? The yooof! We need to make one that only says "What-ever..."

  34. Jamie Jones Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    At least there's some sanity...

    Most of the reviews on the play store read much like the piss-take reviews on Amazon items:

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.justyo

  35. SMabille

    WTF?

    How much can I get for an app that just automatically answer "WTF?" to any incoming Yo?

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  36. This post has been deleted by its author

  37. Seanmon

    Cool!*

    * but not necessarily up to date.

  38. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seems their security could do with a once over.

    Didn't take long...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27939799

  39. skeptical i
    Pint

    Now the fun begins, as world+dog says "Hey, what about MY stupid idea?"

    "I and my mates thought it was crackin' uproarious over beers -- we even took a couple of hours to code it up -- and if this jimmyjoebob can pull in millions on 'yo', why wouldn't [* insert name here *] also rake in some dosh?"

    Might as well laugh, the ship's going down anyway.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seriourly though

    There are real lessons to be learned from this as to how the VC / startup world works. Not sure I want to know what those lessons say though.

  41. Stoneshop
    Headmaster

    Soon

    the literary prowess of the target audience will have degraded to the point that there will be separate apps for each of the words in their entire vocabulary (17, by current estimate) so that they can send that particular word by selecting the right app. For the not-quite-terminally-retarded there will be a single app that offers these words in a radio-button menu.

  42. Hank Waggenburger III

    Yo

    --

    connect with me on ButtPlugg!

  43. Solmyr ibn Wali Barad

    "communicating with 0 characters seems Orwellian"

    Hmm. There is a peculiar, almost Tao-like appeal in it. Communication without communication.

    I, for one, welcome our non-communicating overlords. May they keep quiet evermore.

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