In the decade where we have seen the proliferation of the ‘app’, not all apps are turning out to be useful. When I have conversations with people about their smart phone apps, it quickly dawns on me that most people have downloaded hundreds of apps only to really use a half dozen or so on a regular basis. Some apps are really cool and can help you become more productive while others are simply downright creepy. Here are three that you might want to be on the lookout for when you are out and about on the town.
SCENETAP (www.scenetap.com)- Scenetap is an app that will help you avoid the dreaded bar hopping from joint to joint only to realize that the bar isn’t full, or instead, its full of a crowd you don’t want to hang out with on a Saturday night. This app can tell you how crowded a bar is in terms of its capacity, the male to female ratio (or vice versa), and can even tell you the average age. The bar of the future might even have a facial recognition camera at the door to make statistics like these even more accurate. Now, that will be super creepy.- HOT OR NOT (www.hotornot.com)- With a landing page slogan of ‘find out who likes you secretly and if they like you too we’ll let you know’ is surefire for a five alarm creep alert. With this app you can take pictures during your weekend escapades of random people and identify whether you think they are hot (or not). If somewhere along the evening they happen to take a picture of you and rank you as being hot, this app may help you make a virtual love connection on a Saturday night.
- HIGHLIGHT– It’s comical to see how creepy apps are marketed on their main websites. Highlight is positioned as a fun, simple way to learn about people around you. If you walk into a bar (or really anywhere) and your highlight app is ON, their profile will show up on your phone. You can quickly see their name, photos, mutual friends, and other fun facts. Think about this as a virtual, on the go, ‘maybe we can hook up tonight’ type app. I’m pretty sure the last thing I’d want is to have highlight pop up from the background on my phone only to know that if I turn the barstool around I’ll be hit with a Susan Boyle-impostor sipping on a Mojito.
There are so many incredibly good productive apps that are making our lives better. Halloween is around the corner, but these apps are among the ones that I think are downright creepy. What apps do you know of that have a five alarm creep alert?
Written by:
Ted Jenkin
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Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®, is co-CEO of oXYGen Financial and is a top ranked personal finance blogger (www.yoursmartmoneymoves.com). He is a regular contributor to Investment News, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through NFP Advisor Services, LLC (NFPAS), Member FINRA/SIPC. Oxygen Financial is not affiliated with NFPAS.
