What the Yik Yak - Sidechat Merger Means for Higher Education
Anonymous hyperlocal social media apps, such as Yik Yak, Sidechat, and Jodel, have changed the customer and employee experience at colleges and universities across the country. These apps allow users to post anonymously to a geographically-restricted online community (typically within a five-mile radius). As a consequence of the app’s anonymity features and largely ineffective moderation systems, the online communities associated with anonymous hyperlocal apps are often filled with cyberharassment, hate speech, mis/disinformation, and threats of violence and acts of terrorism.
Two of the most popular anonymous hyperlocal social media apps in the United States - Yik Yak and Sidechat - were recently reported to have merged. Discussions regarding the potential impacts of this merger have swirled in the higher education sector. How will this merger impact colleges and universities? What changes will be observed related to user behavior and engagement? Will the merger result in increased or decreased usage of anonymous hyperlocal social media apps on college and university campuses?
Keep scrolling to review our predictions of the Yik Yak -Sidechat merger's potential impacts on higher education!
What is Yik Yak?
Yik Yak is a United States-based company headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse. The app was initially launched in 2013 and quickly became popular at colleges and universities across the United States. By 2016, Yik Yak had an online community at over 2,000 U.S.-based higher education institutions and received a valuation of $400 million.
As so often happens with anonymous social media apps, user behavior quickly divulged into unprofessional, unethical, and, in some cases, illegal online misconduct. Virginia Tech, Washington and Lee University, The Citadel, Penn State, University of Mary Washington, and University of Utah are just a few of the colleges and universities of which online misconduct and criminal activity have been reported associated with their Yik Yak communities.
In 2017, after receiving immense pressure to curb the cyber harassment and online misconduct associated with their platform, Yik Yak shut down. However, this cessation in digital disruption was just temporary. Block, Inc. (formerly known as “Square, Inc.” - a tech company owned by Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, and Jim McKelvey) acquired Yik Yak for pennies on the dollar of its peak valuation. In 2021, Yik Yak returned to the commercial marketplace, lauding a new and improved platform that promised updated “community guardrails” to combat “bullying and hate speech” on the app. Yik Yak was the Number One download on the Apple Store in the United States the day after the relaunch.
Recent news headlines related to the nefarious usage of Yik Yak at colleges and universities would suggest the updated community guardrails are not providing an effective solution to the widespread negative effects of anonymous hyperlocal social media apps.
What is Sidechat?
Originally developed as Yik Yak and Reddit alternative, Sidechat is an anonymous hyperlocal social media platform that has enjoyed popularity at some of the country's most prestigious colleges and universities. Harvard, Cornell, Tufts, and Yale are just a few of the top-tier institutions that have supported an active Sidechat community.
Developed by a New York-based company, Flower Ave Inc., Sidechat promised its predominantly Generation Z user base “anonymity and accountability.” One aspect of accountability that is not evident with other anonymous hyperlocal social media apps, such as Yik Yak and Jodel, is Sidechat’s requirement of the user’s official school email address to register for an account. This added layer of perceived accountability has concerned some students, as they are seeking more anonymity in their online experience. Why? Is evading accountability for online conduct a high priority for this segment of the user base?
An additional distinction between Sidechat and other anonymous hyperlocal social media apps is Sidechat’s recruitment of paid, on-campus moderators. Geographically-based social media apps often have a certain level of colloquialism associated with the culture. One example of this type of colloquialism is the previously-prolific usage of the term “sheed” on the Jodel community affiliated with Virginia Military Institute (VMI). While the term “sheed” may not be clear to users outside of the VMI community, it was a derogatory term for “women cadets.” Recognition of these types of organization-specific discrimination and harassment terms requires some familiarity with the organization's culture and associated terminology.
On-campus moderators recruited by Sidechat may provide this much-needed, organization-specific insight to strengthening an in-app moderation system intended to curb cyberbullying, harassment, and online misconduct; however, content posted to this app continues to present challenges for affiliated individuals and organizations.
Why are anonymous hyperlocal social media apps so popular with today’s college students?
Successful technologies typically develop in response to a demonstrated market need or observed shift in consumer behavior. The emergence of anonymous hyperlocal social media apps such as Yik Yak and Sidechat is no different. Society’s desires and interests related to communication and networking have changed, and anonymous hyperlocal apps have provided a “solution” to these unmet needs.
Demographically speaking, higher education institutions have recently seen a generation-based change related to the student population. For over a decade, the higher education business model rolled on Millennial students - a generation plagued by high unemployment rates and other career-related repercussions associated with the Great Recession. Everything colleges and universities offered - from dorm design to course offerings - was tailored to the needs to the largest generation in American history - the Millennials.
Around 2015, Generation Z (Gen Zers) started enrolling in colleges and universities. This new generation of students presented distinctly different concerns and interests related to communication expectations, approaches to organizational hierarchy, and the usage of technology in daily life. Perhaps one of the most poignant indicators of generational differences is the shift in social media apps' popularity from Millennials to Gen Zers. While beautifully curated Instagram feeds dominated Millennials' 20s and 30s, Gen Zers have flocked to social media apps offering unfiltered, ephemeral content, such as BeReal.
Bottom-line: Gen Zers engage online with each other and organizations differently than their Millennial predecessors. The explosive popularity of anonymous hyperlocal social media apps such as Yik Yak and Sidechat provides ample evidence that user behavior and expectations from social media have drastically changed in recent years.
Learn more: Higher Education Marketing Strategies for Generation Z
What does the Yik Yak - Sidechat merger mean for higher education?
In March 2023, the merger of Yik Yak and Sidechat was reported by TechCrunch. Flower Avenue, Inc. - Sidechat’s owner - appears to have purchased Yik Yak. While no official announcement has been made to date by the two companies, there are multiple indications of a merger between the two anonymous hyperlocal social media apps. Indicator 1) Yik Yak has been republished on the App Store under Flower Ave Inc.’s account. Indicator 2) Yik Yak users all across the country are receiving notice that the “herd is moving” and are being rerouted to Sidechat’s platform.
This shift in company control of a widely popular anonymous hyperlocal social media platform is important for higher education administrators to track. The in-app features and experience, along with the apps’ protocol for working with law enforcement agencies when threatening content is posted in online communities, are largely dictated by executive leadership. Since its relaunch in 2021, Yik Yak has demonstrated some degree of collaboration with law enforcement agencies to address credible threats of self-harm, violence, and acts of terrorism. Will Sidechat continue to support this practice? If so, what impacts will this have on Sidechat’s user base and engagement?
Other questions related to this apparent Yik Yak - Sidechat merger include:
How will user behavior change when Yik Yak’s base is re-routed to Sidechat?
Will Yik Yak’s user base make the move to Sidechat, or will they gravitate to app alternatives, such as Jodel?
What changes to Sidechat’s app features will occur in response to the merger?
Navigating Hyperlocal App Challenges:
Unfortunately, the self-regulating premise of communications and information that anonymous hyperlocal social media apps promise is often overshadowed by the negative effects of bad actors who utilize these apps for destructive objectives. All too often, these college and university-affiliated online communities digress into cesspools of antisemitism, homophobia, racism, sexism, and xenophobia. In some cases, these apps are used to issue threats of violence to individual members of the organizational community. Targeted harassment, propagation of hate speech, and the rampant spread of mis/disinformation on these apps can have far-reaching implications on the community.
Technology is here to stay, and with technology comes complex challenges. Effective organizational leaders don’t hide from complex challenges, especially when these challenges impact the organization's recruitment and retention - who wants to attend a college or university where students are frequently threatened with sexual assault and lynchings on an anonymous hyperlocal social media app? Organizational leaders that are committed to fulfilling the mission with which they are entrusted will address technology-facilitated challenges in a people-focused manner.
As we’ve observed with the Yik Yak - Sidechat merger, the technology platforms may change; however, the organizational challenges of navigating these developments remain constant. Effective solutions in the form of strategic consulting and organizational training, as offered by Becker Digital, can equip mission-driven organizations to succeed in this complex operating environment.
White Paper: Anonymous Hyperlocal Apps Strategy for Higher Education
Next Steps:
If your organization is seeking support in navigating the complex challenges of today’s digitally-driven world, contact us. Becker Digital has demonstrated past performance in supporting colleges and universities. Our team is skilled at developing and implementing effective solutions to dynamic challenges and opportunities facing government and nonprofit institutions.
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