We’re several months on from the Yo launch and while we’ve seen a lot of copycat apps, this one gives the idea new meaning (or a meaning). With Beer, users can now send their each other a “Beer?!” message inviting friends out for a nice, cold brew.
Before you ask, no, there is no, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!” setting (you have to own your shame if you’re sending these messages before noon). The developers have kept things pretty simple. I tap to send Daniel a beer, or click the plus symbol for more options. That’s pretty much it. My Beer?! message shows up as a notification in his notification tray. We discovered while testing this app that swiping the notifications away doesn’t get rid of them. They came back after five minutes. Instead you have to click the notification itself.
According to Mashable, the people behind Beer plan to mount their PR campaign soon, though the app itself has been available since August. And yes, this idea was directly inspired by Yo. Raphael Franzini and Guga Ketzer admitted to Mashable that they developed the app after they realised they were really using Yo to ask each other if they wanted to go for a drink.
What Beer lacks is any kind of forward momentum, at least for now. Yo is a different story. Though it seemed utterly useless when it launched (and still kind of does), the company plans to monetize and founder Or Arbel has articulated several ways in which Yo could be used to offer you helpful updates or information. For example, the app could alert you if your table is ready at a restaurant or when your friend’s flight has landed. Yo raised $1.5 million in seed round funding this past July.
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