YellowPin Social Networking Application
March 25, 2009 by Tech-Marky
Filed under Web Stuff
This afternoon, I had the privilege of interviewing Charles Darling, the president and COO of ABD3. Charles was very excited about YellowPin, which he wants users to know is not another new social networking site, but a new social networking application.
So what exactly is YellowPin? It is a way of turning your social network into a real world experience. Of course, social networks are offering real-time information all the time, especially since Facebook’s new format got Twitter-pated.
However, YellowPin makes it easy to link to your social network by using SMS. For example, if you want to let a group of friends know exactly where you are and what you are doing, all you need to do is leave a text message at 555-8888 and tell them. You are not required to have a smartphone for this application, as any old version of a cellular phone with SMS texting capability can be used.
A user’s privacy is valued greatly on YellowPin. There is no GPS following you at any time in the process. The only people that will know where you are will be your YellowPin friends, and they will only know if you send them the update. There are other updates that YellowPin will give you, such as entering in pop will let you know where all your yellow friends are hanging out. This is an excellent way to invite and be invited to places. YellowPin will let others know the exact activity you are doing, not just their the longitude and latitude of a GPS location.
Telling your friends your location can also be done at a Wi-Fi connected laptop as well. YellowPin is designed as a Facebook application, and it is designed to work for other social networking groups as well. The first month is free, and then it is $0.99 after that.
So, is YellowPin going to be the wave of the future when it comes to social networking? It is possible. I mean, I heard that Jennifer Aniston broke up with John Mayer because he twittered too much. I suppose we are at a point where social networking is sort of like Big Brother, without all the threat and invasion of privacy issues that were talked about in 1984.
No, YellowPin is helping usher in the era where social networking keeps tabs on us, because that is the way that we want it! Yes, it is a kinder, gentler Big Brother. Let’s just call it Little Brother. So, thank you, YellowPin, for setting us up for a good relationship with Little Brother. I suppose that more is to come in the future of social networking.
Stumble It!
Tony Zeoli on Wed, 25th Mar 2009 7:34 pm
Although I appreciate the business model, as an avid Twitter and Brightkite user, which are both free applications, I am not inclined to pay for a sms messaging over my mobile network. The whole purpose of mobile social networking is to give your location, such that your friends can know what you’re doing and where you are at. If you don’t want someone to know, then don’t publish. It’s as easy as that. I’m not sure why I would publish my yellowpin for a fee, when I want to hide my location? It doesn’t make sense to me. If you’re mobile social networking, the purpose is to let your whereabouts be known. To control that defeats the purpose and gives people a possibly reason to doubt you are where you say you are.
I admire Mr. Darling’s effort to build a Web 2.0 application, but this is the same as Dodgeball and Socialight. I don’t use those services at all, because I don’t want to pay for every SMS. I guess there are people that do, which is fine. I’m just not sure there are enough people to sustain a long term business. YellowPin must adapt to the people who use it and not try to force people into a box, giving them no GPS functionality.
I think that’s a mistake, but good luck to them for trying.
Anonymous on Thu, 26th Mar 2009 10:06 am
I don’t like gps. Its like lowjack for people. Hopefully yellowpin is for the younger generation like me. My friends won’t use a network w/ old farts & wannabe tech geeks like the first guy
Evan Rodzevik on Thu, 26th Mar 2009 10:52 am
Interesting perspective; not sure I understand the concerns with pricing…its what? 99 cents a month? Come on… I think that while there is a cost, there is also value and safety in having control of what you publish and who sees it. As far as I know, Bright kite even calls themselves a tracking tool, where I can “track” my friends. Yes, can’t say there is anything I enjoy more than “tracking my friends”…NOT. Although, it’s an ideal solution for stalkers if that’s your game.
And I don’t see YellowPin forcing anyone into a box – if anything, they are opening a box. Everyone texts…from teens to moms even freakin Grandmothers. It sounds like what YellowPin does do is not bombard you with texts, but rather, takes all the information your friends have chosen to share and packages it into a single text message when you send “POP”. Again, I think, if people’s biggest concern is the half-cent SMS cost if you don’t have a texting plan – then you have to pinch yourself – yes, you are in 2009. I’d also rather pay that then have random people identify me on a map through GPS.
I’m fairly new to mobile social networking, but I’ll say this much. I don’t mind paying the $11.88 per year not to be tracked. I’m willing to give this service a try – YellowPin seems fun. Not to knock Brightkite, I’m sure they have a fine service…but that “tracking” concept gets me every time.
mtv_widget on Fri, 27th Mar 2009 2:27 pm
@Tony for some light on what real people think of tracking read this: http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/17-04/rants
“I was disappointed that you downplayed the potential dark side of GPS. What if spouses, bosses, and the government could track one’s every move? What if there were a law requiring every child to have a GPS tracking device implanted at birth? What if potential blackmailers or assassins could pinpoint the location of executives and other leaders? I would have hoped that futurists like you might provide an alternative to the usual rah-rah gushing.”
Tony Zeoli on Sun, 29th Mar 2009 12:16 pm
I laugh at the comment by “Anonymous.” Could this be someone from YellowPin? Sounds like it.
As for GPS tracking, I’m not sure if Brightkite uses GPS or triangulates your location via cell phone towers. I understand the desire to be anonymous, so why use a mobile social service if you don’t want to publish your location? That’s what the service is for in the first place.
You say you only want to update people that you care about without GPS. What happens when you have an argument with that person, or that person turns into a predator, and you forget to take them off your YellowPin list. You’ve enabled that person to see you in the first place.
It’s not the technology, it’s how it’s used. There’s an upside and downside to everything when it comes to these services. You have to balance your needs while communicating with the world around you, what information you want to share.
I just think that the action of having to remember a specific number and then text to that number is inferior to having the device locate you, then it’s one click to publish. In terms of usability, that’s the preferred methodology. In an interactive world, where so much information, like passwords and user names have to be remembered, who wants to remember another code to publish something that can be automated? Not me. And, on Brightkite, I’m publishing to an approved list of friends if I so choose. I don’t have to publish to the world.
Johann on Mon, 30th Mar 2009 10:28 am
@T: interesting system of phone usage. do you memorize the phone numbers of everyone you want to call from your cell? or do you save #s with peoples names? it seems like you could do the same with yellowpin, just save it as an entry with its number. just my 2 cents, as i haven’t tried the app yet but this seems to be possible from reading this article
Tony Zeoli on Mon, 30th Mar 2009 12:34 pm
True, you could list it in your Contacts, which would make it easier. Honestly, I just never think to use SMS to text my location. Just a personal preference, I guess. That’s why I never used Dodgeball or Socialite, because I didn’t really think to save the pin number to my contacts. With Brightkite on my iPhone, I just click the Brightkite icon, the app locates me and then I click to send with or without a photo or comment. I don’t have to search my contacts, find the contact and send a text message with my location details. Brightkite fills in where you are at. I haven’t used YellowPin, so I can’t say that it doesn’t do the same. My preference is just that I can open the app and it finds me, instead of me having type in where I am.