Phil Mundy’s take on the Apps we’re all talking about . . .
If you needed any more proof that mobile is mass market, last night’s Apprentice underlined this by setting the contestants the task of building an App in 24 hours (!)
For one of TV’s most popular shows, setting a technology challenge like this could have confused and confounded the contestants, and the audience. That the concept was taken in stride as easily as last week’s Fruit and Veg special, only shows how big a part of our lives apps and smartphones have become.
Last night we were treated to the creative process behind two sound board apps. You know the ones, they’re all over the App Store and let the user choose from a selection of ‘hilarious’ audio clips. If you remember that 90’s classic, the electronic sound box that played sounds of bombs dropping, or machine gun fire, It’s a bit like that, just on your phone.
So did the best app win? Judging by the general chat on the web, not to mention our own opinions, the girl’s app missed the mark by a very long way. Even during the expo presentation eyes rolled every time the terrifying leather-glove clad Edna shouted ‘You Guys!’ as she pointed towards the audience.
The boys had a better concept, in that they had a concept… but there was also some humour there and the app made sense in its own way. Good effort lads but they still didn’t clinch the win. So why not?
As the show suggests, the reasons include the global appeal of the sound effects chosen but are also down to the metadata of the apps. Although getting off to a strong start, the boys app was very UK centric, and this was reflected in the app description. The girls however was written in relatively plain English, which will have made a lot more sense to the far larger global audience. When you only have a split second to turn a browsing user into a downloading user, an app description needs to hit the mark immediately.
So is it really this easy to make an App Store number 1?
App Stores are the ultimate in free market economies, get your content out there and let the consumer decide. So why doesn’t every brand, company, and product that wants global fame (or infamy) just release a quick and dirty sound board, like the two we saw last night, with prominent branding and a simple message mixed in with a selection of seemingly arbitrary images and pictures?
The answer is, because a message is only worth sharing with someone who wants to listen, and more importantly, to act upon.
The right app is about conveying a message in a quality and meaningful way to a specific group of people. Sure we can notch up the downloads, but its about speaking directly to the people we want, or need to hear us. Not shouting at the masses, as we watch the message pass through one ear, and out of the other.
In many ways this example has showed us that a simple or amusing app can reach a large number of people, and on some level that’s a form of success. But for App Stores to reach their true potential, that of placing great content in the hands of those it was intended, the way we as users, search, learn about, and are recommended appropriate content has to improve.
In short we need to cut through the noise and get to the content that doesn’t merely distract, but truly engages.
As a closing thought, how many downloads do you think each app would have achieved had the user been asked to pay?
Or as Lord Sugar asked – “You gave the app away for free? How much money did you make then?”
The Apprentice – what the experts really thought
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