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Blog Post: Free Apps Are Popular, But Are They Right?

It’s hard to argue with hard data that suggests apps with zero initial cost are more successful than paid apps. As articles, such as this piece from TechCrunch, argue, developer revenue and download metrics both suggest there is little value in asking users to pay up front for anything.

Tell that to Epic Games.

The maker of the Infinity Blade trilogy has not only made a killing off their hugely popular apps, the price of each subsequent version keeps going up. Doesn’t matter, as download numbers keep rising in addition to the company’s bank accounts.

At the same time, games like Candy Crush continue to beat expectations by asking customers to invest nothing except what they want after playing a few levels. If I’m being completely honest, I have invested more of my Apple credit in Candy Crush than Infinity Blade.

So is there such a thing as a “correct” model?

Just remember that the goal of every app is not to make money in today’s market. A restaurant like Chick-fil-A or Starbucks can release an app as part of their branding strategy and not necessarily make their money back. If the app helps drive customers to their locations, it is a success.

An upcoming movie release may choose to have a free game integrated into the marketing campaign to help generate excitement. It also helps keep the movie top of mind for when the DVD is released. In that vein, any revenue generated is secondary to push a tentpole movie into pop culture conversations.

Granted, if the goal of the developer is to have a profit generated just from the development of a single app, it is very hard to argue with freemium. Unless you have a proven brand people are willing to pay for like Infinity Blade, it can be difficult to ask users to pay without trying.

Yet, I see more and more apps hit the iOS and Android stores with that request. Will they be more successful than their free counterparts? If downloads are the goal, then there is no way for that to happen. Hooking some dedicated first-adopters with great UI/UX and concept and making a profit off them is for sure on the side of paid apps.

Don’t let articles such as this scare you away from your strategy. Build your users up with anticipation for your upcoming release and they will gladly reward you with their discretionary income. Great software will succeed no matter what price you set it at (with some obvious exceptions).

What has worked for you? Which pricing model do you see taking off in the next year or two?

Blog Post: Free Apps Are Popular, But Are They Right?

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Blog Post: Don’t Let iOS 7 Scare You

I wasn’t sure how to take this Business Insider piece about concerns over how iOS 7 was going to break all my apps at first. What most likely happened is someone at uTest saw this as a great marketing opportunity, and the folks at BI gladly responded.

What concerns me is the intended panic the headline intends to create.

Rest assures, iOS users, the developers behind your favorite apps have been working hard to upgrade their code to be compliant with the coming update September 18. The customers at uTest probably encountered frustration a month or so ago and have most likely fixed the issue.

Apple did not leave its users high and dry with the update from 6 to 7. Even though I don’t work there I am confident they are not in the business of doing so.

I am excited to see all of the new UI enhancements with all of my favorite apps next week. One thing is for sure, iOS 7 will do a good job of weeding out the bad apps from our home screens. The ones that didn’t utilize forward compatibility or put in the time to refactor probably weren’t worth my time to begin with.

Blog Post: Don’t Let iOS 7 Scare You

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Blog Post: Why Twitter Will Be Rewarded For Thinking Mobile First

Everyone has talked this Twitter IPO thing to death, and I was wondering if I was struggling to find a great take on the situation. Many have speculated on the success metrics, but nobody really nailed why the social media platform had reached this point.

Enter the Wall Street Journal with the main factor: mobile-first strategy.

Think about it. As they launched, many were passing in its usefulness because they were on desktop machines. That was how Facebook reached out to so many. LinkedIn the same. Yet, even today, I do not really enjoy the web interface of Twitter.

Of course, we all know the story of the famous South by Southwest that truly put Twitter on the map. The momentum gained from tripling its user base in one week has not faded. That doesn’t happen without the iPhone and a fantastic mobile experience.

The pairing of the platform with TV works even better because anyone who enjoys tweeting knows the best time to do so is during live events. When I went to a Dallas Cowboys game on Monday night in 2012, the experience would not have been complete without sharing.

Wish I could have tweeted the ‘Boys to a victory!

I am not going to speculate on the success of the coming IPO because so many factors will go into that beyond my purview. What I will point to is how companies trying to formulate a strategy of success for the rest if this decade must think like Twitter and go mobile first.

We aren’t putting our devices down anytime soon. Be a part of that experience.

Blog Post: Why Twitter Will Be Rewarded For Thinking Mobile First

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Don’t tread on me

kyletibbitts: The ascendancy of libertarianism in Silicon Valley The average American looks to the West and assumes that Northern California is populated by roving packs of Prius-driving, weed-farming, granola-eating, deodorant-despising, left-wing Marxists. For certain pockets of the Bay Area—Berkeley comes to mind—this is probably a fairly accurate description. But when it comes to Silicon Valley […]

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