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Wednesday 13 June 2012

iPoo bathroom app pays off for jokesters - provides chat opportunities and up-to-the minute stool-related statistics -

iPoo bathroom app pays off for jokesters - provides chat opportunities and up-to-the minute stool-related statistics - 




Just call it plan number two.


Amit Khanna, a 30-year-old Markham native, used to be a high school teacher. Now, he’s manages the, uh, business end of a crass — and successful — app.


It’s called iPoo and yes, it’s what you think: an app you use on the ivory throne. It connects users with others conducting similar business, provides chatting opportunities, even offers up-to-the minute stool-related statistics, such as how many squares of toilet paper are being flushed.


“Imagine that you’re on the can, and think about the things that you would maybe want to do,” said Khanna, one of the app’s three creators.


Apparently for some, that’s more than just read a newspaper. Since it was created in 2009, the $1 app has been downloaded nearly 300,000 times.


Because it’s sold through iTunes, Apple takes 30 per cent of the profits, but it leaves a sizable chunk of change for the three partners. One co-creator was able to pay his way through Harvard Business School, while Khanna has made real estate investments.


“We were surprised but not totally shocked,” Khanna said. The trio suspected they could make some money, since other joke apps — such as iPoo’s equally unpleasant predecessor, iFart — have found financial success.


The idea surfaced much as you’d think: three bathroom humour loving guys were sitting around in someone’s Markham home, trading “wouldn’t it be funny” schemes. When conversation turned to toilet activities, someone suggested an app to pass the time.


Khanna’s co-creators, both developers, got to work and began sharing the app with friends. As soon as they made it available, they knew it would become larger than an inside joke.


Among the most used features is the “virtual wall” where a profile is created for public toilets, such as the Tim Hortons bathroom near Yonge and Bloor. Users can leave virtual graffiti on the wall, just like in the real bathroom.


Read more - 
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1210345--ipoo-bathroom-app-pays-off-for-jokesters

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