Yik Yak

One of the great parts of my job is I get to learn something new on a regular basis. Today I learned about Yik Yak, and I am grateful to my students for bringing me into 2014. We were discussing an article about social media ("The Anti-Social Network") and talked about Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A few students talked about Yik Yak and how it differs from the other sites.

In reading a little bit about Yik Yak I found this article that talks about the rise of anonymous postings. Very interesting how sites and apps come and go. Wonder if Yik Yak will be a household name soon.

Here's an article at Inside Higher Ed about Yik Yak ("Don't Ban Yik Yak") that makes good points. The comments are worth reading too.

Here's yet another article at Inside Higher Ed about Yik Yak ("Yik Yak Rhetorics"). The author notes: "College students are hardly the only people thinking the uncomfortable or the offensive. All around us uncomfortable thought exists. Eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds are not the only people who make private thought public on a whim. We all do. My Facebook feed is proof. The majority of my Facebook friends are, after all, academics. They seldom hold back on their thoughts."

At The Society Pages, Britney Summit-Gil shares her thoughts about Yik Yak. She writes:
"Yik Yak also complicates notions of private and public. My identity is private, but my innermost thoughts are public. I can complain about the people closest to me without hurting their feelings or experiencing their wrath." Another excerpt: "There must be something satisfying about Yik Yak since users keep coming back. Maybe it’s the validation of being upvoted for something funny or relatable, maybe the whimsical nature of the app itself, or maybe the hope of making a personal connection with an apparent stranger. Probably all three."

Like it, love it, or hate it, Yik Yak is surely giving folks something to talk about.