Would I Livr To You?

Would I Livr To You?

Jenny Rudd, Head of Content at MOSH, New Zealand's top social media agency spots a April Fool's Day gag running for the last month

Livr is an app which allows drunk people to have fun with other drunk people and then erase the whole lot if they wake up feeling the toxic shame often induced by 4 martinis, a jug of beer and some friends in the same state. It was set up by two buddies with digital haircuts, a great idea and the technical expertise to propel a long lunch of mapping out ideas into a neat little app with cute functions such as plugging a breathalyser into your smart phone to measure your BAC (breath alcohol content) - the more drunk you are, the more access you get to Livr's features. Be connected to another random Livr user to hook up, ask the Livr crowd for a truth or dare and win points. All of this is delivered with in the kind of jargon you expect from Mark Zuckerburg wannabes wearing hoodies and plaid shirts. The website features a seriously smart looking video where the 2 founders tell us all about how cool their groundbreaking app is. So far so normal. Apart from the fact it's all a hoax.

Working for a social media consultancy I have watched and read many pitches almost identical to that of Livr. Admittedly, the encouragement to get sloshed isn't usually included but Livr has done such a slick job it's easy to shut off and forget that it's irresponsible to encourage blind drunkenness and hooking up with strangers. I mean, if they've managed to raise finance from reputable investors, it must be ok musn't it?

The two 'founders' are actually actors. The accounts on Instagram and Twitter have been set up, it's just that they don't go anywhere to reach real people. The domain was set up anonymously. My guess is that the real founders of Livr are working for a similar outfit in the real world and have happily utilised their resources to produce an identikit start up. It has clearly taken some time and effort. As mocking as they are of the start ups with revolutionary social media ideas, it's quite possible they are earning their living from the same crew.

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