YAZOM — AN APP BUILT WITH SOCIAL WELLNESS IN MIND

Sanjé Witter
Yazom
Published in
4 min readJul 3, 2020

We are here!
Yazom has finally landed on Google Play. Yes, Google Play and some might say “What about people with Apple products?”. The simple truth is, we need to test the ‘waters’ with one model first and then see what happens before we try another. Resources aren’t infinite, we had to decide how best to deploy and manage them as it relates to: human capital, time management and finances.

The model of building for one major mobile OS first then another is not a new phenomena. Instagram and Snapchat are examples of two mainstream apps that followed this path. They started with iOS; a decision made given their location. We operate and are located within emerging markets so focusing on Android first had to be our priority.

What is Yazom?
Yazom is an interactive media app. You may think of it as a crossover between Instagram and Twitter. Expressing your opinions, views or sharing an activity is called a Take. 🎬

Yazom essentially focuses on giving everyone a voice or having a spotlight of their own without needing to congregate under one “post” trying to get your point across. Instead, you can see a Take and provide your own perspective on it and get real feedback based specifically on your view. This method should in theory improve social wellness.

For clarity, let’s do a comparison of three basic features of another app alongside Yazom to emphasize some of its social wellness principles. For this case, we shall enter the ring against a heavyweight — Twitter.

Yazom vs Twitter 🥊
ROUND 1: Takes instead of Tweets (Threads)

Yazom uses Takes; you get one shot at a Take. Whatever your expression on something is then that is what everyone will see. The advantage of this is that a relatively balanced system is created. No one is bombarded by selfish users who exhaust timelines and ultimately drown the perspective of others.

Twitter on the other hand allows someone to consistently tweet endlessly on one topic ultimately resulting in a barrage on other users which implicitly forces the ideals of one user upon the rest of the community.

ROUND 2: Comments
Yazom’s commenting model is simple. You make a comment and you can either ADD AN EMOJI ✔️ or NOT ADD AN EMOJI ❌. This method helps to prevent users from straying off topic which oftentimes leads to propaganda. Comments with memes and gifs more times than not result in the procreation of false news which circulate maniacally. Yazom will pass on that offer. So, when someone does make a comment; the absence of links, gifs and memes increases the probability of other users fact checking claims.

Twitter allows for: Gifs, memes, links, videos, etc. in the comment section. It can be in short — “a hot mess” not a “Hot Take”. With false news rearing its ugly head on social media at every opportunity, these features are very good vectors of misinformation.

ROUND 3: Direct Messaging
Yazom’s direct messaging maintains the simplicity of commenting. The DM feature is what we consider to be an option and not a necessity. What we want is for people to be providing their Take and building a rapport. It’s certainly not about the DM. Think of the DM here as a nice cup holder with your new vehicle. It’s nice to have but not a necessity.

Twitter’s DMs are much different and whilst you can adjust the privileges, a lot of interesting opinions and interactions go amiss from the public eye, some valuable ones too. After all, if you can share videos, gifs, memes, etc. in DMs then why come out on the playground?

Yazom is neither Instagram or Twitter remade. It is a unique spin on social media with a wellness component by allowing persons to express themselves freely and think openly in a more balanced and less overbearing system. We all have ‘Takes’ on various topics yet we never express them for reasons not limited to judgment, cyberbullying, etc. Yazom’s goal is to ensure that all perspectives matter equally.

Did You Know?
Yazom is the next generation approach to wellness. Our mission is to improve the wellness of everyone by offering the highest quality products using the finest technologies and design principles. Yazom’s app focuses on social wellness and Yazom Professional is an EHR for medical doctors. Yazom Care which prioritizes patients is also in the pipeline.

Sneak Peek 👀
The wallet is a coming soon feature for Yazom’s digital currency — ZOM. It will also cater to regular fiat currency.

Yazom App — Account Settings

One More Thing…

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT YAZOM’S TWITTER AND IG PAGES: @YAZOMIT

Yazom’s Twitter Page

Yazom’s Instagram Page

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Sanjé Witter
Yazom
Editor for

[Health through tech] [Takes corrections] [Learns quickly] [I do my best]