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Listen to this articleBy Andre LaFontant
Jennifer Dyer, co-founder and CEO of Yappa World Inc., is an action-orientated optimist and a true innovator. She embodies a desire to build upon her successes and learn from her failures; Dyer knows there is always more trail to tread. “Before I started Yappa in 2015,” Dyer begins, “my past experiences in business helped me understand that challenging circumstances do not have to rock me; I’ve learned to remain persistent and determined.”
Today, Yappa aims to reshape the tenor of online communities such as blogs, radio broadcasts, and publications, by allowing users to connect with content via audio and video rather than strictly text-based interactions. “I think we found out of early focus groups, that people did not want another social media app,” Dyer explains. “They loved, however, the connectivity that Yappa brings through its audio and visual aspects. In our pivot from mobile app to WordPress tool, we wanted to bring the conversation to where our target audience already congregates.”
In the broadcast space, Yappa demonstrates its innovative potential. “We are currently preparing to launch with Power 106 [based in Los Angeles] because radio is synonymous with audio and yet for years people call in and wait on the line to talk with hosts or have their written tweets plucked for further commentary,” Jennifer explains. “Yappa allows for radio hosts and broadcasters to download their listeners’ ‘Yaps’ and integrate them within live broadcasts in favor of seamless connectivity.”
Dyer goes further to state that across all of the platforms it services, “Yappa has created nearly 5,000 conversations, amassing over 100 hours of audible content.” Four years after starting Yappa, she has leveraged its success to become one of the first African American women to take any company, let alone one burgeoning in the tech sector, public.
Jennifer Dyer conveys a passion for Yappa that will stoke an unfamiliar warmth in the stereotypically cold tech industry she now inhabits. “Society is telling everyone today to own your voice, yet the internet, which is the most expedient way to display one’s views, is dead silent. I think Yappa is going to be able to change that and give way to great speakers and influencers that have a voice for change.”
“Another vertical that we are excited for Yappa to become involved with—beyond being an excellent commenting tool—is the review space,” she continues “Nothing is more transparent than being able to connect through someone’s voice, from varied inflection caused by excitement or otherwise, concerning products or services.”
With Dyer’s relentless optimism, Yappa’s future will drive nearer to its mission: bringing the world closer by allowing it to speak. The Yappa WordPress plugin is also free and can be installed from https://wordpress.org/plugins/yappa-widget/.
For more information on the new social media commenting tool Visit: http://www.yappaapp.com/
