Edible Apple

Here’s an interesting twist on the alarm clock.

OKITE is a Japanese alarm clock app that sends out embarrassing tweets every time you hit the snooze button.

Tofugu writes:

OKITE punishes you with some choice tweets for continuing to hit that snooze button. It covers everything from embarrassing fashion choices (“I’m wearing a sailor suit right now”) to the shamefully boastful (“The world needs more smart people like me”). But maybe the most condemning tweet of all from OKITE is “I can’t ride a bicycle.”

I’m sure the embarrassment level of these tweets are lost in cultural translation, but we’ll have to label this app as a great idea but poorly executed.

The interesting cultural thing about this app is the whole public shaming thing. In America when you do something shameful it’s all about the person doing the shameful thing. “What’s wrong with you?” “Why would you do that?” etc. In Japan, it’s kind of the opposite. When someone does something shameful, it’s always “What will the neighbors think?” and “What will your classmates think?” Public shame is the most terrifying motivator of all in Japan, and this app plays right in to that.

You can check out the app on iTunes here.

HT: Scrollon