Hater App Frees You from 'Like' Tyranny
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Hater let's you link into your social network, dish on any topic and watch it stall.
CREDIT: TechNewsDaily composite |
"Don't be a hater," a popular phrase goes. By why not, says Jake Banks. "It doesn't have to be negative," he says. "I can hate cancer."
Debuting this week at the South by Southwest Interactive festival, the free Hater iOS app gives you an option other than to like or be silent. Hater allows you to type out your gripe, take a photo of what you don't like or search for a photo online. Banks said that dissing fashion and celebrities are especially popular — that is, among the few dozen people who have been testing it. (Oddly, and a bit disturbing, my search for Anne Hathaway also brought up photos of Anne Frank.)
As with other sharing apps, Hater allows you to send posts to Facebook and Twitter. But like the comments section on so many websites, Hater also lets you gripe anonymously with any username you choose when you sign up. To do that, you can click the "Share with your Alter Ego," switch. Of course it also allows you to follow other people using the app and see how they really feel.
Ironically Hater has so many bugs to hate, including crashing, temporary freeze-ups, button that don't register no matter how many times you click and occasions when your carefully worded kvetch text disappears.
The setup process is baffling. While I created a username and password, which I assumed was my alter ego, when I tried sharing to the identity, the app told me that I didn't have any. And sometimes it wouldn't post at all. When I tried to get caddy about Anne Hathaway (in honor of some work colleagues) the post simply wouldn't take, to matter how many times I clicked Share. (Maybe she's off limits.) It's a bit miraculous that Hater made it through that App Store approval.
To his credit, Banks had warned me that there would be some bugs, perhaps the result of a mad dash to get ready for South by Southwest. And the best thing to do with a hate may be to take it as constructive criticism. If Banks does get Hater working, it could turn into a very entertaining opportunity to say how we really feel. And given the shaky economy, frustrating politics, the endless profusion of "Harlem Shake" videos and — for some people — Anne Hathaway, there should be plenty of opportunities.
