Idealogy and the World of Apps! A slightly personal view…

With well over 300,000 Apps at our fingertips (and that number seems to be growing by the minute) people seemingly can’t get enough of them. But are they good for us or, for that matter, good for business?

Having an iPhone or Android phone and a business related App is no longer a choice. Depending on your
Business, its de rigeur - it's a modern requirement expected of today’s competitive marketplace. And it’s
becoming impossible to overlook the opportunity - it's even the same when you think about a mobile version
of your website.

Go back 10 years – then the debate was ‘do I have to get a website or not?’ People were unsure, but
today the answer seems obvious: if you’re not on the Web then you don’t exist, or you’re ex-directory. Either
way, no-one knows you’re there! So, by extension, will it become a requirement that you’ve got to exist as
an iPhone App?

With millions of new iPhone , iPod Touch and iPad users jumping on the App wagon every month, can your
business afford to ignore this as a delivery channel?

For the business who gets it right, an iPhone app opens up a world of possibilities for customer experience that
many only dream about. The right app allows your company to refresh your brand, identity and customer
touchpoints that really provide ‘stand out’ in a highly competitive world.

But then, of course, there’s the flip side of the story!

How did we ever survive before the world of Apps consumed us!




How did we walk, breathe, ignore Angry Birds? How did we ever get a shelf straight without an iPhone Spirit
level? It’s all spiraling out of control, the way it did when they invented the Remote Control. Then, the issue of
the day was ‘how did we change channel (all four of them) when our TV sets had buttons. Answer: We got up
off of the sofa and pressed one of the aforementioned buttons. Now TV’s are HD Ready and smooth with no
buttons – nothing to press. But we have the Remote – unless, of course, we lose it! Just hope that you aren’t
watching QTV and condemned to endless junk product ads for the next few hours while you strip search the
front room!

Today, Apps have created an ever-growing, fast paced, socially networked world where Mum and Dad can
keep up with the latest trends in entertaining their kids, the avid cook can stay in touch with the newest or
their favourite recipes without reaching for the cook book. There will be those with New Year resolutions who kid themselves that their Workout App will give them a six pack the moment they lose the Christmas
one pack.

Maybe cynicism shouldn’t be allowed to prevail here, but surely a phone should just be a phone. Who cares
if your handset can draw pretty pictures, tell you how to tie an ‘Albright knot’ or help plan a party. Honestly…
have people really nothing better to do than fix their face to a palm size screen in the vain belief that these
glossy icons will improve and often re-shape their lives.

It’s ironic that something that can tap into ‘social media’ in an instant can actually be so ‘anti-social.’
And why? Because people spend more time using App functionality than actually what the phone was designed
for - communicating – and while we’re on about it, isn’t that more social?

Maybe we’re slightly behind the curve of the tidal wave of euphoria over the iPhone and the world of Apps.
On a personal note, maybe it’s the fact that teenagers think this technology is the best thing since the
Playstation? Actually, that’s not maybe, it’s probably! So, am I going to avoid this latest trend in mobile
communication? Definitely!

But, whatever your views and where you sit on this debate, it’s safe to say that ‘most’ people are fully immersed
in the mobile App revolution.

Posted by Dan Soutan