Yo, an iPhone App which was written in 8 hours, has changed the life of its creator.
Yo allows the user to send a single word “Yo” to a recipient who also has the Yo iPhone app installed.
Thats it. I mean, how simple can an iPhone app be?
Yet this insanely simple app has taken the world by storm. 100s of reviews, thousands of downloads, an app phenomenon.
On the strength of this 8 hour effort, the inventor has moved halfway round the world to America, raised a million dollars in venture capital project funding, and is now hiring staff to progress his ideas.
Yo was apparently inspired by the author’s old boss, who wanted a push button app to summon employees to his office.
The first version of the app was released on April Fools Day.
The first attempt by the author to release “Yo” was rejected by App Store – they thought the app was unfinished.
As an app developer, its a serious kicking myself moment – I could have written this iPhone app in my sleep. But it never occurred to me to write it.
And thats the point – the author, Or Arbel, thought of it first. He didn’t sit on his idea, he got on with it. And thanks to that, he’s now a million dollars better off.
Perhaps Yo iPhone App is a fad. I mean, how often can people send the word “Yo” to each other before it gets boring? But this fad has given the author a million dollars worth of opportunities to change his life. And who knows – by the time people get tired of “Yo”, Mr Arbel may have written the “Hey” iPhone app…