Australian tech startup Bonobo today launched Yoink, a free online service to facilitate the trade and reuse of items between people that measures your generosity at the same time.
The new website and iPhone application is like eBay with a big twist: everything must be free, locally picked up and there is no bidding – the first person to “Yoink” an item from someone wins it instantly. People, cities and countries are ranked on a worldwide scoreboard determining who is the most generous at giving items away.
This follows a trend by services such as FourSquare and other social gaming platforms (Facebook, with the infamous Farmville) towards internet services that incorporate gaming elements and a sense of competition between friends, or in this case, cities to increase user participation with the site in order to increase their status relative to other participants.
“We made Yoink so that it only takes 30 seconds to either give something away or find free stuff from people near you,” said Ben Hamey, Bonobo’s
co-founder. “Grab something you don’t need anymore, put it on Yoink and its available for anyone in your community.”
For more information on Yoink, or to try the service:
Twitter @Yoink
Web http://www.yoink.com/
App Store http://itunes.com/app/Yoink
