Confessions of an App User



Funny Mouth App - Photo edited using Photomania App



About a week or so ago – The Virginian-Pilot ran a couple articles written by Philip Walzer on local App Developers.   Walzer’s articles provided a glimpse into the newest revolution and local business opportunity of app development.   Hundreds of thousands of apps are developed each year…Apple alone reported that in 2012 over 700 new apps were submitted each day. 

I need to confess, I do not like apps.   Don’t get me wrong, I do like applications; matter of fact I am using one right now to create this musing.  What I do not like is the seemly thousands upon thousands of  “Mobile Apps”.  Those small apps with their invasive “free offer”.  Whereupon once downloaded you are immediately flooded with those “how about this…” ads. 

While I admit that, from time to time I have chucked some irritated foul at some bovine squatters. Moreover, maybe just maybe, on occasion, have taken some pleasure on completing a well-placed triple banked shot into a living dead or two.    What bothers me is that, the creators of these apps seemly have an incessant desire to create mobile apps that do everything, anywhere – It simply drives me crazy!!!  

Frankly, do we need that many apps?    I remember back in the day, when we were happy just to be able to use “point and click” without having to type C> cd backslash, backslash……I remember my giddiness when I first “hyperlink” my way through a graphic world of endless information.   And how I fondly look forward and dare say, even embraced the latest version of office applications.  At least until Version 7, from that point on, I have tried, to make every application look and behave like pre-7 versions.

Do we need apps like Cow Toss, Sexy Girl Talk--Sexy Alphabet Deluxe or Pet Baby just to name a few?   OK someone might while tossing cows want to listening to a very sexy alphabet - but come on, who in the right mind wants to know what their pet would look like as a human baby?   That is just plain creepy.

So you can imagine my surprise when I finally got around to helping my wife with her online store “Handy Clay Creations”  That I, the app hater - would come across an app that I truly found fascinating.   Photomania, a Facebook image-processing app that provides easy to use photo editing effects.   Once you get past those, “try this” adds - I found this app easy and really fun to use.  Most of all you don’t even have to understand “layering” to create an effect.  Created by three young Israeli, this app is considered one of the most popular entertainment apps on the Facebook platform.   To date Photomania has been reported as being downloaded over by over 35 million users.  What these young (20ish) entrepreneurs have proven is that there is still opportunity to take an idea and turn it into a worldwide success. 

While there are plenty of simply stupid apps – there are just as many more that have a use by someone – somewhere.     The “app” frontier provides an opportunity for anyone who has an idea.  If that idea is interesting enough - someone will download it.   While it is not easy to do, it can be done.   App development is truly a brave new frontier for business and marketing.

Locally in Hampton Roads there are not as many as we would like to see engaged in this frontier.  There are those who are trying to create culture of app entrepreneurs.   We should encourage these efforts, and maybe just maybe one or two ideas will become the next big success. 

So next time, I fumble in a dark movie theater wishing that I had a flashlight.   I will remember that there is a flashlight app for this.   FXGURU - now that is a useful app - rock on “App Developer” rock on…….