Starting today, you can hail a car on Lyft via a wearable gadget for your thumb. Only you can’t really do that because this is just a dumb prank. But wow, what a prank it is.
Lyft loves its pranks. Every year, the ride-hail company does something outlandish for April Fools’ Day. Last year, Lyft added something called “prank mode” to its app, allowing customers in NYC, LA, and San Francisco to embark on elaborate pranks involving fake radio stations, actors, and of course, Lyft Line. One such prank involved NBA star Festus Ezeli. Hilarious.
This year, Lyft outdid itself, but in doing so it revealed an inherent weakness: it doesn’t understand how pranks work. April Fools’ Day is about tricking a gullible public into believing something that is fundamentally not true. But when you go to extreme lengths to make the prank so believable that it becomes true, than it is you who has been pranked.
Which brings me to Mono, Lyft’s first wearable gadget. Before I explain anything about the Mono, please watch the video above, because it is amazing. Seriously, I could watch this dancer promote fake technology all day.