The truth is stranger than fiction. Even in the world of digital signage. Believe us, we know from experience.
That’s why we’ve decided to share some of the weirdness, as well as the wonderful.
“Just how weird can uses for digital signage get?” I hear you ask.
Understandable. Classically, when we think of digital signage we envisage digital menu boards, retail marketing, data dashboards and the like. But wait. What about the unusual ones you might never think about?
The answer to the above question is, well, pretty damn weird. So without further ado, let us enlighten you on the stranger and more intriguing uses we’ve seen for Yodeck from partners, customers and/or third parties.
Weird digital signage uses
As part of our proactive customer support procedures, we regularly go through a massive list of low-resolution screenshots just to spot obvious issues on screens. And, during the past couple of years, since our great adventure began, we’ve stumbled upon some really unconventional stuff.
1. Sex
We thought that might put a silly grin on your face. But yes, it always seems to be around the corner whatever line of work you’re in. Photos with some nudity are par for the course, but we did have a case where an establishment was using Yodeck to show naked pictures with sexual content. Totally legal, and also totally embarrassing (for us).
2. Gifts
Yodeck is free for 1 screen and if you already have a Raspberry Pi then you can use it straight away. And we have witnessed Yodeck-powered screens given as gifts for occasions like Mother’s Day. The customer picture frames are loaded with family photos of loved ones and wishes. So go on, surprise your mum with Yodeck!
3. A DIY morning STB (set-top box)
Since Yodeck can combine content from several sources on one screen, some people use it as a bedroom TV. They consolidate all required info, like headlines, traffic maps and weather info, and switch to this “custom” channel to get their quick morning update. This is a true example of an eager consumer taking the power of Yodeck into their own hands. This is one we actually love and are quite jealous we didn’t think of it first!
4. Particle Accelerator Status
Yes, you read that right. Although it does fall into the “dashboards” category, it is so cool that we have to include it in the list. So hats off to Brookhaven National Laboratory, who are using Yodeck to show the operating status of the National Synchrotron Light Source II throughout the facility. To infinity and beyond!
5. Community STB
As we touched on for #3, Yodeck was never designed to be a consumer STB. But some guys running an online production firm wanted to use Yodeck to deliver targeted 24/7 content to select African-American communities throughout the United States. And do it without streaming. How cool is that? Weird digital signage at its best.
6. Pay-per-View
Hospitality digital signage is one of our most popular use cases. But we have some ingenious partners. One of them convinced a hotel to provide a pay-per-view service through Yodeck. Who knew? Each room has a player showing the “hotel channel” which also shows movie trailers. If a guest wants to see a movie, they call up the reception and they use Yodeck to assign the selected movie to that room. Now, who would have thought of that? Pure genius.
Share your weird digital signage uses (setups)
As our user base continues to grow, we’re pretty sure that our partners and customers out there will keep on finding cool, inventive, improvised, and just downright weird, uses for our digital signage platform.
Do you have an unusual case you believe we need to know about and include in our list? If so, reach out and tell us all about it. If it’s crazy or weird enough, then we’ll include it. Who knows? We might even ask you for a quick interview and/or demo to show us! On the other hand, if you’re only getting started with digital signage, join Yodeck to create and deliver the most extraordinary across any number of screens.