The app bubble has somehow yet to
burst and everyday more start-ups emerge hawking their mobile services.
Some of these are useful, like the crowd-sourced navigation tool
Waze and the language instruction app
Duolingo. Others are not-so-useful, like the much maligned and very confused
LeftoverSwap.
Now there’s even an app for kidnapping. Voluntarily kidnapping, more specifically.
When I stumbled upon kidnApp for the first time yesterday, I couldn’t
immediately tell if it was a bizarre new startup or a marketing ploy
hoping to go viral. I’ve heard of voluntary abductions before and even
have a friend who participated in one, so I’m not totally unfamiliar
with the concept. But the idea of an app whereby these experiences can
be accessed very easily seemed unreal.
According to the
getkidnapped.com,
kidnApp is both an app and a social network. Members who wish to be
kidnapped are called Waiters and pay $4.99 per month for the privilege
of scheduling their own abductions. The kidnappers are called Takers.
Waiters and Takers alike have public profiles and can be followed, as
you would on Facebook or Twitter, by fellow members.
To find out more about kidnApp, I reached out to the contact email on the site, which led me to
Justin Sirois. Justin is the author of a series of books called
So Say the Waiters,
in which a fictional version of kidnApp plays a central role in the
plot. The story is currently optioned for television and the kidnApp
website was, as I suspected, initially intended to be an advertising
gimmick.
However, Justin is having second thoughts about confining kidnApp to
the realm of fiction. Over a series of emails, I chatted with him and
his television producer, who wanted only to be known by the pseudonym
McCaslin, about the app and what we may see if it ever makes the jump
from the page to your smartphone.
MOTHERBOARD: First of all, is this for real?
Justin Sirois: Right now, the app isn’t real, but we are open to
anyone who might want to help us create it. I guess the only thing
stopping us would be the financing and then the legality of it. An app
like kidnApp would require lawyer fees.
I’m surprised it hasn’t been tried already though. The infrastructure
exists already: just take Grindr and apply kidnApping to it, right?
Can you give me a brief synopsis of So Say the Waiters and how this app connects to the book?
Justin: The series is about an app and social network that allows
people (Waiters) to submit their own kidnAppings. They can literally
disappear themselves for an hour or three days. The books follow two
main characters: Henry, a sort of conservative IT guy who is hired by
the company, and Dani, a young bartender who has been getting kidnApped
for about a year. Throughout the series, they partner up, in secret, as a
kidnApping pair.
The app’s history and origin are revealed slowly throughout the
series as smaller characters move into the spotlight. As some Takers
become celebrities in the network, you can see how alluring the abuse of
power becomes.
Was kidnApp supposed to be solely a marketing tool or do you intend to follow through with it?
Justin: The app site is definitely in a very early Beta form. We’ve
had so much positive feedback from the site that it’s hard not
entertaining the idea of creating the app. We’ve had so many people
contact us asking if it’s already real and where they can get it. Hell,
it already feels feel. Fiction or not, the app and site will give us a
lot of flexibility to tell the story.
McCaslin: kidnApp was initially created as a marketing tool for the
book, certainly. But as we started to explore the possibilities of
adapting the book into a television series, we realized that it could
develop even more. We see it becoming a two-way street of communication
between the
readers/viewers and the creators. People can write in about
their dream take scnearios, they can leave feedback, and then we can
leak out story elements, casting information, cast bios, possible plot
twists, trailers, omitted scenes, etc.
How seriously have you considered following through on it?
McCaslin: More seriously now than a month ago. The majority of our
visitors have asked when we will be up and running. I would say about 65
percent are interested in actually becoming Waiters, 10 percent have
inquired about our application process for becoming Takers. The rest are
a mixed bag of comments from people who think we are out of our minds
and others who simply loved the books.
Justin: If I can quit my day job and run kidnApp for a living, then
why not? It’s been both fun and enlightening getting submissions from
people. How else would I have learned about “recreational prisons” in
Arizona? That’s definitely not the direction kidnApp would go in, but it
shows we have a wide range of people interested in the app.
What are some of the legal concerns that you imagine might pop up with an app like this?
McCaslin: Our biggest concern would be with copycat scenarios or
imposters posing as being from kidnApp when in fact they are not. Real
crimes could be committed and it would be an easy thing to point the
finger at us. However, the police, victim, and kidnapper would have to
prove it was us. Every take would be submitted through the app and would
be easily traceable. The Takers would only know a small amount of
information about the Waiters. And only the Administrators know both
sides. It is very controlled.
Justin: The terms and conditions would clearly state that kidnApp is a
recreational service. Vetting Takers would be very important too, but I
think once a Taker has a few good reviews and a bunch of followers,
Waiters would be more apt to trust that Taker.
Ridesharing apps, like Lyft and Uber, have faced criticism
over the creepiness of some of their drivers, all of whom they tout as
having been thoroughly background checked. Wouldn’t this be an even
bigger problem with something like kidnApp, because people are in a far
more vulnerable position?
McCaslin: Yes, there is a creepiness factor involved. But we have to
think about the people who are submitting to being taken. They are
looking for a certain type of experience. Vulnerability, endorphins, and
the unknowns are all part of that experience. Our database of
information will pair Waiters with the right Takers. What we intend on
building is similar to how dating sites work, cross referencing multiple
elements to find the right match. The major difference is that our
Takers are “in house” and not some random people off the street. One
side, our side, is controlled, whereas a dating site has two
uncontrolled sides.
Justin: Transparency is key here. In the books, kidnApp is very much
like Facebook in the way that all Takers are public. You can read their
profiles and “follow” them. The more positive reviews the Taker has, the
more popular they are. So that does take a lot of the creepiness out of
the experience. If you know who is coming for you and other Waiters
have vouched for that person, then you’re safe.
Is the kidnApping always a sexual experience? Or can you just be taken and do whatever for however long?
Justin: kidnApping can be whatever you want it to be. That’s the
magic of it. We aren’t interested in the sexuality of the experience; we
want to create an ever-present tension and a life-altering event. All
of a sudden, you have a portal—your phone, the app—in your pocket. Use
it to disappear.
All images courtesy of Justin Sirois.
