4 ms·

I hate these fluff pieces. There's a huge infatuation with mobile apps these days that's not based on reality. The media either,presents them as super simple pr

by jwwest 15y ago

I hate these fluff pieces. There's a huge infatuation with mobile apps these days that's not based on reality. The media either,presents them as super simple projects that are making people rich or gimmicks that can't possibly take too much time to build. The fact is, no one wants to hear about how Marco's "super simple" service has quite a bit of engineering on the backend to handle load, or that he's not, in fact, a millionaire from Instapaper (even though it seems that he makes a very decent living). The truth is that apps aren't a gold mine. It still takes hard work, dedication and luck to make it developing your own mobile apps. It just irks me that the public perception of apps are that they're simple and always make buckets of money in exchange for little effort.

k-mcgrady 15y ago
It's true that making a successful app is hard work. It is, however, simple compared to how the software market used to work. You no longer need your own website and payment system, you need very little marketing, and development time is quicker allowing you to try many different ideas until you find one that sticks. You can create a living with time being the only investment (and you can invest your spare time so you can continue your day job). Edit: Why the down vote? If you are going to down vote something at least reply with your reason/point of view.
- amirmc 15y ago
  > "...you need very little marketing... development time is quicker..." I disagree with this. There's still quite a bit of effort involved marketing if you've not already got credibility/contacts/attention from something previous. Development time may be quicker in general but if you want to craft something unique I expect you still have to spend time on it. Agree with the rest of your points though.
  - k-mcgrady 15y ago
    I suppose development time does depend on the app. It is possible to spend a few hours building an app and make a lot of money from it though but this is probably the exception not the rule. I've always found marketing iOS apps to be very simple. You get marketing in the App Store new releases section, and then I push hard for downloads on social media. You only need to market hard until you get into the top 25 or so and then the App Store does it for you. This is what I have found anyway.

by jwwest 15y ago

k-mcgrady 15y ago

It's true that making a successful app is hard work. It is, however, simple compared to how the software market used to work. You no longer need your own website and payment system, you need very little marketing, and development time is quicker allowing you to try many different ideas until you find one that sticks. You can create a living with time being the only investment (and you can invest your spare time so you can continue your day job). Edit: Why the down vote? If you are going to down vote something at least reply with your reason/point of view.

amirmc 15y ago
> "...you need very little marketing... development time is quicker..." I disagree with this. There's still quite a bit of effort involved marketing if you've not already got credibility/contacts/attention from something previous. Development time may be quicker in general but if you want to craft something unique I expect you still have to spend time on it. Agree with the rest of your points though.
- k-mcgrady 15y ago
  I suppose development time does depend on the app. It is possible to spend a few hours building an app and make a lot of money from it though but this is probably the exception not the rule. I've always found marketing iOS apps to be very simple. You get marketing in the App Store new releases section, and then I push hard for downloads on social media. You only need to market hard until you get into the top 25 or so and then the App Store does it for you. This is what I have found anyway.