The quickly growing Yo app is expanding its notification features. Initially established to simply tell a fellow user "yo" in order to grab their attention, the app, which has received a solid amount of investment, is expanding to include hashtag phrases in its messaging service.
The newest update will give users the ability to attach links to messages and to give support for topics trending online and offline with hashtag messages. It appears to be the beginning foundation of an effort to market the product to advertisers.
It's also now incorporated directly into the app what it calls the Yo Index, which shows a running list of websites and services that are taking advantage of Yo's API to send notifications to users. If you want Yo'd when there's a FedEx package for you, or when Beyonce drops a new video, you can opt in. You also can see the real name of someone reaching out to you with a swipe to the right on the app's username section. Users can now opt in to show their full name and photo.
The company says companies will now be able to see the daily total of how many times their hashtag was used in the app. It allows brands, TV shows and websites to gauge popularity, much like Twitter and Facebook.
The app was created by engineers who wanted to overhaul how people communicate with each other by simplifying the number of words employed, Tech Times reports. Investors have already coughed up $1 million, a sizeable amount of cash, to back the app, which initially only let users send a message of "Yo" to contacts and nothing more.
In a way, it aims to be an end to the long text messages, emoticons and short videos that often bog down users.
"This version shows the real power of the Yo platform which is, at its most basic, a two-way communication platform between people, websites, brands, businesses and virtually anything that can connect to the Internet," the company said in a blog post announcing the updates. "The app core functionality and simple interface hasn't changed. We work hard to keep it simple."
"Wanna say 'good morning'? just Yo," the app's description reads. "Wanna say 'Baby I'm thinking about you'? - Yo. 'I've finished my meeting, come by my office' - Yo. 'Are you up?' - Yo. The possibilities are endless."
With the new update, users can even have a service implemented that allows them to be notified by YouTube.com when a new video of interest is uploaded. Users can then send the link and a hashtag message to others about the newest video available online.
While initially described as "silly" by a number of tech observers, the company and the Yo app appear to be getting a facelift, and should be able to move in ways that take the instant announcement messaging concept in new directions.
