Homelessness app a runaway success despite criticism

IT | Gareth Jones | 21 May 2010

iHobo, the controversial iPhone app produced by homelessness charity Depaul UK, has received more than 100,000 downloads and earlier this week topped the download chart for free apps.

It claimed the top spot in the iTunes free app download chart last Saturday, though it has since fallen to third.

Critics of the app, which displays a virtual homeless person and attempts to demonstrate the complexity of their plight in real-time over the course of three days, have argued the concept and name is demeaning.

Designed pro-bono by Publicis London, it uses push notifications to alert the user when the iHobo needs food or support.

Paul Marriott, chief executive of Depaul UK, said: “Depaul has always prided itself on taking risks on behalf of the young people we serve and the development of iHobo was certainly a risk.

“It is deliberately designed to provoke conversations about youth homelessness and so its name and content had to be able to cause a reaction.”

He added: “We know that many of those who have actually downloaded the application have become very emotionally engaged with the issue of youth homelessness.

“And, for an organisation with no real marketing capacity, the opportunity to raise the profile of our cause and our charity to such a wide audience is immensely valuable.”

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.