Each and every one of us has, at some point in our lives, whipped out our phones at a concert to snap a photo or video.\u00a0 And while some performers have embraced mobile phones\u2014sometimes enlisting them as mass lighting props[1]<\/a>\u2014many artists are increasingly seeking ways to prevent fans from excessive and uncontrolled mobile phone use at live shows.<\/p>\n Yondr<\/strong><\/p>\n Enter Yondr<\/a>, a startup that has a solution for limiting phone use in sensitive areas by creating \u201cphone-free spaces\u201d.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Yondr\u2019s product is remarkably simple.\u00a0 As people enter a venue, they are given a Yondr pouch, which comes in 3 different sizes.\u00a0 The attendee places her phone in the Yondr pouch and, when she enters the GPS designated phone-free zone, the pouch automatically locks.\u00a0 If the attendee needs to use her phone, all she has to do is step outside of the phone-free zone to unlock the pouch and access her phone.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n Yondr used Alibaba to locate Chinese manufacturers to assemble its secure pouches, and leases the cases to venues for approximately $2.00-2.50 per case per day, with discounts for larger orders.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n Early Adopters<\/strong><\/p>\n Not surprisingly, some of the first adopters of Yondr were stand-up comedians.\u00a0 A comedian may take months or even years to perfect a joke, and they often use unannounced walk-ons at small comedy venues to test out new, unrefined material.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n However, if a bootlegged video of a comedy routine comes out before a major tour or network special, it can prematurely spoil the joke, sending a comedian back to the drawing board. \u00a0For this reason, many comedians\u2014including Dave Chappelle, Hannibal Burress and Louis C.K.\u2014utilize Yondr at their shows.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n Yondr\u2019s vision is \u201cto show people how powerful a moment can be when we aren\u2019t focused on documenting it or broadcasting it,\u201d[7]<\/a>\u00a0and it isn’t stopping at concerts and comedy shows.\u00a0 Yondr is also expanding into other applications, including schools, restaurants, wedding venues, and movie theaters.[8]<\/a>\u00a0 In the case of Sunnyside Environmental School, students and <\/em>teachers use Yondr pouches throughout the school day, with the teachers keeping the unlocking mechanism.\u00a0 According to the school\u2019s sustainability coordinator, the school \u201cwant[ed] to show students that there can be a difference in the way they interact with each other and their teachers when everyone in the classroom is present and engaged in a particular lesson.\u201d[9]<\/a><\/p>\n Problems with Yondr<\/strong><\/p>\n However, the future of Yondr does not look too promising.<\/p>\n First, some artists admit that phone use at shows isn\u2019t always a bad thing.\u00a0 For example, when a fan posts photos or videos online, that generates earned media for the artist, which can be especially valuable for building word of mouth fo Second, Yondr does not have an adequate plan for emergency situations.\u00a0 Locking a phone in a pouch could expose Yondr to considerable liability in the event that someone is urgently trying to reach a concertgoer, or if a Bataclan type event occurred at\u00a0the venue.\u00a0 Graham Dugoni, Yondr\u2019s founder, was recently asked about the emergency safeguards of Yondr in an emergency, but Dugoni replied that their \u201cgeneral protocol\u201d only included \u201cmultiple unlocking stations\u201d and a landline.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n Third, it won\u2019t be long before Yondr is pushed aside by smartphone application developers and manufacturers.\u00a0 Apple is already working on technology that would selectively disable a cell phone\u2019s photo and video capabilities.\u00a0[12]<\/a>\u00a0 Apple\u2019s patent utilizes infrared signals with encoded data which\u2014when received by an iPhone\u2014would disable a function of the device, such as the photo or video application.\u00a0[13]<\/a> \u00a0The patent also contemplates less intrusive measures, such as applying a watermark to any detected images.\u00a0[14]<\/a><\/p>\n Finally, the usefulness of Yondr depends on our respective inabilities to control our mobile phone addictions.\u00a0 As mobile phone addiction becomes increasingly prevalent, more drastic measures may be taken that ultimately render Yondr obsolete.<\/p>\n To that end, Yondr\u2019s tagline is ironically appropriate: \u201cbe here now\u201d\u2026 maybe because Yondr won\u2019t be here later.\u00a0[15]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n (665 Words)<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> See, e.g., <\/em>\u201cIs It Time to Ban Phones From Concerts?\u201d The GRAMMYs, by Roy Trakin (Aug. 25, 2016), available at<\/em> http:\/\/www.grammy.com\/news\/is-it-time-to-ban-phones-from-concerts<\/a> (describing a concert during which Adele chastised a fan saying \u201cI know you\u2019re taking a picture, but I\u2019m talking to you in real life,\u201d but then later asked everyone to hold up their phone to provide a \u201cglittering backgrop\u201d).<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> See generally<\/em> http:\/\/www.OverYondr.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> See generally<\/em> http:\/\/www.OverYondr.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> \u201cThe Anti-Cellphone Tech Used By Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., and Guns N\u2019 Roses,\u201d BloombergBusinessweek, by Adam Satariano (July 15, 2016), available at<\/em> http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2016-07-15\/the-anti-cellphone-tech-used-by-dave-chappelle-louis-c-k-and-guns-n-roses<\/a>.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> See, e.g.<\/em>, \u201cWhy Patton Oswalt Tore Into an Audience Member and Why There Are No Winners,\u201d LaughSpin.com, by Dylan P. Gadino (Jan. 9, 2012), available at<\/em> http:\/\/www.laughspin.com\/why-patton-oswalt-tore-into-an-audience-member-and-why-there-are-no-winners<\/a>.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> \u201cHannibal Buress Partners with Yondr so People Will Stop Using Their Phones at Shows,\u201d The Daily Dot, by Audra Schroeder (May 19, 2015), available at<\/em> http:\/\/www.dailydot.com\/debug\/hannibal-buress-yondr-phones-shows<\/a> (noting how a bootlegged video of Hannibal Burress\u2019 stand-up routine refocused public attention on Bill Cosby rape allegations).<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> See<\/em> http:\/\/www.OverYondr.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Your Phone\u2019s on Lockdown.\u00a0 Enjoy the Show.\u201d\u00a0 The New York Times, by Janet Morrissey (Oct. 15, 2016), available at<\/em> http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/10\/16\/technology\/your-phones-on-lockdown-enjoy-the-show.html?_r=0<\/a>.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> \u201cSmartphone Lock Pouch Leaves Students to Their Own (Unusable) Devices,\u201d Scientific American, by Larry Greenemeier (May 8, 2015), available at <\/em>https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/smartphone-lock-pouch-leaves-students-to-their-own-unusable-devices<\/a>.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> See <\/em>\u201cIs It Time to Ban Phones From Concerts?\u201d The GRAMMYs, supra <\/em>Endnote 1 (quoting William Morris Endeavor executive Marc Geiger, \u201cIt\u2019s a very necessary annoyance, but also serves as both marketing and promotion. Everyone wants to share the content on social media to show that they were there.\u201d).<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Yondr is Turning Concerts Into \u201cNo-Phone Zones,\u201d ConsequenceOfSound.net, by Sami Jarroush (Jan. 4, 2016), available at<\/em> http:\/\/consequenceofsound.net\/video\/yondr-is-turning-concerts-into-no-phone-zones<\/a>.<\/p>\n [12]<\/a> \u201cApple Granted Patent For Way to Stop iPhones From Taking Photos at Concerts or Sensitive Locations,\u201d 9to5Mac.com, by Ben Lovejoy (June 28, 2016), available at<\/em> https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2016\/06\/28\/apple-patent-infra-red-block-photos<\/a>. \u00a0But see<\/em> \u201cWhy Apple\u2019s Patent to Disable Your Phone\u2019s Camera Is So 1984,\u201d Forbes, by Kalev Leetaru (July 31, 2016), available at<\/em> http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kalevleetaru\/2016\/07\/31\/why-apples-patent-to-disable-your-phones-camera-is-so-1984\/#30877defebe0<\/a>.<\/p>\n [13]<\/a> U.S. Patent 9,380,225 (granted June 28, 2016), Tiscareno, Victor M., Jonhson, Kevin W., and Lawrence, Cindy H., Inventors.\u00a0 Systems and methods for receiving infrared data with a camera designed to detect images based on visible light, available at<\/em> http:\/\/patft.uspto.gov\/netacgi\/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=9,380,225&OS=9,380,225&RS=9,380,225<\/a>.<\/p>\n [14]<\/a> U.S. Patent 9,380,225, supra <\/em>Endnote 13.<\/p>\n [15]<\/a> http:\/\/www.overyondr.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Musicians, comedians and fans are fed up with excessive cellphone use at performances. Yondr, a new start-up, has an innovative product for creating “phone-free zones,” and is trying to return authenticity, privacy and exclusivity to venues and artists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2547,"featured_media":17151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1067,594,92,2440,2444,2445,91,249,2442,2443,2441,335,853],"class_list":["post-17148","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple","category-camera","category-cellphone","category-comedy","category-concert","category-iphone","category-mobile","category-music","category-musician","category-phone","category-show","category-smartphone","category-video"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\n![\"yondr\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Yondr.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"yondr2\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Yondr2.png\")
<\/a>r lesser known acts.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n
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