"YikYak, non-profits, and the question of anonymous social media"

1. non-profits, and the question of anonymous
social media
Alexis Stempien

2. Yik…Yakety Sax?
Yik Yak is “Twitter for a 10-mile radius”. Users post,
anonymous messages that can be upvoted or
downvoted, and the most popular Yaks are featured
on a “Hot” page.
Quick Stats:
• launched in 2013
• 1.8 million users (comScore, Dec. 2014)
• college demographic (95% of users)
• free and mobile-only (iOS, Android)
• posts are 200 characters max

4. Yik Yak and Non-Profits

5. Yik Yak and Non-Profits
• likely not useful for most non-profit organizations
– users are anonymous
– audience is mainly college campuses
– no hyperlinks, images, mass audiences, or longevity
– not a medium for advertising
• still useful for (clever) campus organizations
– can promote events, especially social ones or giveaways
– audience is specifically Michigan students
– Yaks must sound organic and not commercial (success is often in
wit and humor)

7. What about anonymity?
• YikYak’s safeguards against verbal abuse/harassment:
– app will not open in high schools due to “geofencing” because of
the lower maturity level
– when trying to post a potentially threatening message (ex. false
bomb threats), this pop-up window appears: “It looks like you’re
posting something threatening. Just want you to know that Yik Yak
and law enforcement take this stuff seriously.”
– a list of banned words
– while composing a Yak, the app scans your text for menacing
language and real names
– a team of monitors track Yaks and take care of serious problems
– repeat offenses = suspension from the app
• the story of “pink hat guy”

8. When anonymity is good
• anonymous online bystanders are more likely to step in
when they see bullying or harassment (Computers in
Human Behavior, April 2015)
• students take creative risks they normally wouldn’t (Junco,
“Engaging Students through Social Media”)
• students can more safely explore their identities
anonymously
• professionals can learn more about a campus environment
through the students’ eyes (what’s working and what isn’t)
• helps develop a sense of community

9. Sources/References:
• http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756
3214007249
• http://www.wired.com/2015/03/yik-yak-online-anonymity-
good-college-students/
• http://www.macworld.com/article/2897478/location-is-
the-new-hashtag-yik-yak-aims-to-be-the-next-twitter.html
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/10/20/yik-
yak-wants-to-be-a-news-hub-but-it-needs-to-grow-up-first/