An app that does nothing but send a simple notification of “Yo” to recipients is the most popular app right now in the US.

Created in just eight hours by Or Arbel， a 32-year-old app developer from Tel Aviv， Israel， Yo claims to be the “simplest and most efficient communication tool in the world”. With a single tap， users can send the word “Yo” to one another in a voice notification and nothing else.

Arbel enthused about his app in an interview with The New Yorker， “Its a whole new way for communication. A hundred and forty characters is too much these days… Its lightweight， easy， and you dont have to open a message—the notification itself is everything you need.”

When Yo was launched on April Fools Day last year， the Apple App Store at first rejected it on the grounds that it lacked substance. Many people still see the app as a joke. Some technology experts， like Polly Mosendz from a website and Judd Legum （a writer）， point out that the way a simple app like Yo got millions in funding says much about the impending burst of the tech bubble.

最近，一款只能向他人發(fā)送一個(gè)字“Yo”的手機(jī)應(yīng)用風(fēng)靡美國(guó)。

這款應(yīng)用僅用8小時(shí)就開(kāi)發(fā)而成，而它的開(kāi)發(fā)人，來(lái)自以色列特拉維夫的32歲研發(fā)員奧爾·阿拜爾說(shuō)，“Yo是目前全世界最簡(jiǎn)單、最高效的通信工具”。因?yàn)橹恍枰粋€(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的按鈕，用戶(hù)就可以把“Yo”這個(gè)單詞以語(yǔ)音提醒的方式發(fā)給別人，而這也是Yo的唯一功能。

在《紐約客》的采訪(fǎng)中，奧爾對(duì)他的應(yīng)用熱情滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)：“這是一種全新的溝通方式。在當(dāng)今時(shí)代，發(fā)送140個(gè)字母實(shí)在太長(zhǎng)了……Yo簡(jiǎn)短輕便，你甚至不必打開(kāi)每條消息，因?yàn)槟阒恍枰嵝驯旧砭托辛恕！?/p>

Yo在去年愚人節(jié)首發(fā)。一開(kāi)始，蘋(píng)果手機(jī)應(yīng)用商店以“沒(méi)有實(shí)質(zhì)內(nèi)容”為由拒絕發(fā)布；直到今天，仍有不少人認(rèn)為這個(gè)應(yīng)用就是個(gè)玩笑。不少技術(shù)人員指出，如此簡(jiǎn)單的一個(gè)應(yīng)用能獲得上百萬(wàn)的投資恰恰反映了技術(shù)泡沫的破裂近在咫尺，某網(wǎng)站的作者波莉·莫申茲與作家裘德·利格姆都持有此種觀點(diǎn)。

Arbel calls Yo “context-based communication” and some people are beginning to “get it”. Jordan Crook， from Tech Crunch， explains why the context of a “Yo” says much more than two little letters： “As with anything， a ‘Yo can just be a ‘Yo. But youll feel a very real difference between a ‘Yo you get in the morning from a friend and a ‘Yo you get at 2 am from a friend with benefits. Trust me. And thats the magic.”

But people dont always want to load their “Yos” with meaning. David Shapiro， from The New Yorker， says now when he thinks about someone， he just “Yos” them instead of spending time starting and carrying on a conversation. He says its a great way of saying： “Im thinking about you but I dont have anything in particular to say.” Social media constantly demands our time and attention. Not responding to text messages and e-mails can hurt relationships. However， Shapiro says， a “Yo” doesnt seem to demand a reply. “What a relief，” he says.

Andrew Leonard says “Yo” also signifies something deeper. It “expresses our most essential humanity”. He says that the utterance of the word “Yo” is a declaration， first， that I exist in this world， and second， that I seek connection and community with something outside myself. Its like saying， “Yo… I am here. Is anybody out there？”

奧爾認(rèn)為Yo是一種“依賴(lài)語(yǔ)境的溝通方式”，現(xiàn)在不少人已經(jīng)體會(huì)到這一點(diǎn)。來(lái)自Tech Crunch博客的喬丹·克魯克解釋了為什么有了語(yǔ)境，“Yo”就能表達(dá)出遠(yuǎn)超出兩個(gè)字母的含義：“如果沒(méi)有任何語(yǔ)境，那么Yo只是兩個(gè)字母。但是，你卻能明顯感覺(jué)到早上朋友發(fā)來(lái)的Yo和凌晨2點(diǎn)發(fā)來(lái)的Yo之間的不同。相信我，這就是它的魔力所在?！?/p>

不過(guò)，人們并不總是想賦予“Yo”具體含義。在《紐約客》工作的大衛(wèi)·莎皮歐說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在每當(dāng)他想念誰(shuí)的時(shí)候，他會(huì)給對(duì)方發(fā)一條Yo，而不是花好多時(shí)間網(wǎng)聊。他覺(jué)得發(fā)送Yo是個(gè)很不錯(cuò)的辦法，告訴對(duì)方“我想你了，但是我沒(méi)什么特別想說(shuō)的”。社交媒體總是占用我們大量的時(shí)間和注意力，而不回復(fù)短信或者郵件則容易傷感情。不過(guò)，莎皮歐認(rèn)為Yo就不需要用戶(hù)有信息必回。正如他的感慨：“這多省事兒?。　?/p>

安德魯·里歐納德認(rèn)為，Yo表達(dá)了一些更深層次的東西，“它傳達(dá)出了人性的本質(zhì)”。Yo這個(gè)簡(jiǎn)短詞匯本身就是個(gè)宣言：首先，我在這里；其次，我還想認(rèn)識(shí)別人，和他人建立聯(lián)系。這就好像是說(shuō)：“嘿……我在這里呢，這兒還有別人嗎？”