Yippykya - Ride-em Web 2.0

Posted by Phil Butler on August 13th, 2007

Yippykya is a new social networking site that has been in beta since June. The startup allows users to make money, find friends and get discovered as artists. I signed up for the service some time ago and have watched the user base expand substantially. John Reger CEO of Yippykya envisioned a site where branding and retail techniques could help budding artists. Socialization and personal discoverability are the heart of this funny and interesting artist discovery site. Yippy has launched their communiy in Houston, but other large U.S. cities like LA and Chicago are slated for launching soon. 

Okay, the name is almost too catchy, but you have to like it coming from a Houston based company right? The premise is not new but Yippy presents the artists in a different way via "Yippys on the Rise", an idea similar to reality based TV shows. These rising stars are spread across 12 categories including: musicians, models, actors, writers, filmmakers, fashion designers, jewelers and graphic artists. A great asset for budding performers on Yippy is the ability to create their own online stores for their wares. The site is replete with several promotions and events to showcase the site and its artists. I just wonder if the more venue specific sites for music or other artistic arenas are more the trend these days, and Yippy does seem a little short on music talent.

Artist Community

One of the most interesting and progressive promotions by Yippy is a penned deal to co-produce and co-finance two films per year. Virtual auditions have ended for their first presentation titled "The Gauntlet" to be simultaneously released by a major studio and Yippy on their consumer video portal. The project will be packaged from the pool of artist at Yippy and a lead will be played by a Yippy member according to information on the site.

I have been getting requests to add artists as friends since I joined Yippy's beta back in June. Yippys (the name for peeps on Yippy) from models to actors and even World Taekwondo Champion Steven Lopez have begun to populate the stores and personal spaces on the site. Users on Yippy can create custom spots, import peeps, join or create groups and get discovered in via any number of networking features. The service also supports video, music, blogs, RSS, email and other social Web 2.0 standards.

Conclusion

It seems like Yippy has flown under the radar so far, but the site has all the makings of a popular community. The only negatives are the full venue and site content that is not quite as glitch free as it should be. Yippy held a huge breakout party at Richs in Houston back in June, and I am wondering if something did not quite go as well as it could have. The site has not been updated fully since then, so this is puzzling. Yippy intends to branch out from Houston to other cities in a national campaign. Perhaps localization explains why some venues are sparsely populated with talent now and why Yippy has been relatively unnoticed.

The biggest hurdle for Yippy will be spreading to other metro areas, but the development seems to have good sponsors and promotional backing. The Yippy regional development plan is a double edged sword in that the Houston site (and others) can develop a strong community, but attracting more talent and big name yippys will be a function of money or time. Yippy is especially subject to the Web 2.0 syndrome of user generated value and content provided by lots of users - perhaps it will catch on in other towns. 

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