Monday, March 28, 2011

YOU HAVE THE POWER!!!!!!!!


I see it everyday with my app.  A very large disproportionate number of people who buy an app actually rate an app.  If you are like me, and I suspect many are, rating seems like a pain.  "Why should I rate an app? It seems like work.  I already gave this app company money now they need a pat on the back! Or if not that a slap on the wrist, I don’t want to do that its just mean.”  Why rate?

The answer, I’ve found, is if we don’t rate, we don't effect the kind of change we want to see at in the app store to make it a better store.  Look at it it this way.  When a movie comes out like, My Big Fat Greek Wedding many people who went to see it loved it.  They told friends.  Sales soared.  The amount of money spent to make and sell that film was pretty low, but the word of mouth on it allowed us all to have a fun night at the movies watching a movie we might have otherwise missed.  Conversely, if someone had saved me money by telling me that the last Superman movie was not good, I would have been grateful for not having had paid IMAX ticket prices on it!

So many of us don’t know the power word of mouth has on the iTunes store.  It has a HUGE impact on sales. HUGE.  What does that mean for you though? It means if a company makes a dud they need to be told so.  Why? Because if they are not told so they will keep going on making duds thinking people like the duds.   What if an app is good, but it can be better somehow? Give it a three stars and tell them why you did.  The app you spent your hard earned money on in a store that allows you to talk to the producer directly to say how they need to improve what they make. Don’t be surprised if you see an update making the app three times better because of your comment either.

When I worked for Big Idea making Veggietales and we saw harsh comments on Amazon regarding what we were lacking in, we took it to heart.  We know that every one comment might as well have been a thousand comments.  The great thing about the App store is its like being in a restaurant, getting bad food, and its okay for you to tell people all around you “Don’t get the pasta it’s waaay undercooked!”  Don’t think for a minute the cook wont change how he does things.

You have the power to make the app store better for yourself and others.  Rate things. Be honest.  Get your money’s worth.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Nothin’s Over 'Till The Bell Rings


I love Rocky.  You know what I love about that guy? He takes his hits, he puts it all on line to to do more than just box. Most of the times he is fighting something inside himself rather than the guy in the ring.  He has something to prove to himself.

In a world that is full of people who are in tough spots and know they have a voice if they can only fight the nay-sayers to have it heard; you have have no choice but to fight for yourself to say ‘I Am.”  The fight to get an app noticed is very much about that.  Sure there is competition (tons of it) but who cares.  Fight your way through it.  Put fear on the back burner and see how far you can push forward.  You don’t have to be a jerk about it.  You just have to believe deep down inside that you have what it takes to make it to the last round.

My friends, its a tough world. So much is beyond our control.  What is in our control is how we react to the blows that hit us. They will knock us down. You will feel like a failure for a moment.  Dust yourselves off, stand up, and FIGHT BACK!  Many people give up.  Don’t.  Failure can’t be an option.  If that were the case we would have no success stories. You have to fight for whats yours in this world.  You fight for your family, to keep a home, to take a chance, to sell an app.  Its not about success in the end though, its about character.  Prove to the world that you will always rise to your feet no matter how hard the blow!  Show people that they can too.  Inspire the dream of America.  An underdog can win if the actually have the heart that it takes.  We all want to believe we have that fire in us.

Light a match and let it burn!

Fight the good fight, and dare to say to the world, 'I am!’

Never loose heart!  The second you believe you are done... you are.  Don’t believe that, fall on your ideals and  fight back. Fight well. Fight fair. And listen to the roar of the crowd.  They will roar because they want what you have...Fire.

Go forth and conquer!

Best,
Joe

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

"Hello I’m a Mac.” “And I’m an Idiot"


The iPad 2 is days way from release.  I just watched the video of all the new and cool things it can do.  I was watching it on my ‘old’ iPad. It feels like I’m a kid enjoying a Wonka bar on brisk sunny morning, and this kid runs by me shouting loudly that he has a Golden Ticket.  "Lucky punk.”  I continue eating the chocolate bar, but now it doesn’t taste so good.

Technology moves so fast these days! You can hardly wear out a computer before someone wont even give you ten dollars for it on Ebay.  I accept it. I know that thats how it goes, but this time around I feel like some of the features could have been done on the last iPad.  The camera comes to mind.

Now, this new iPad is way faster, and it seems to have a bunch of iLife stuff on it.  Pretty cool, but I hope we can ditch some of those built in programs we don’t usually use them to free up space though.  I liked on the last iPad that it just had the essential programs. For me, Garage Band is cool, but if I had to choose between that and another large app that I want to put on my iPad;  I will want to get rid of it.  I’m not much of a 'music guy’.

So, I committed the cardinal sin as many of you have, I bought first run Technology.  It’s crazy I am behind the times already, but then, I am not alone.  The other night my wife asked me “If your app sells well, and we pay of all our debt; what will you buy for yourself? “  I said, “I’ll get us dinner,” She smiles.  I add, “Then we head over to the Mac store and I get an iPad 2. I’m a Mac junkie and its a write off.  For me.”  She smirks.  She’s right to.

For all of you that bought a holiday iPad at Best Buy, do you really wonder why they were running all those adds for selling back outdated items 90 days after Christmas for new and improved versions.  It wasn’t for TVs I don’t think.  Pretty clever.

Anyway.  Apple did need to draw a line in the sand however because of all these other iPad knockoffs out there.  It did the same with the iPod. It dominated that market.  It will dominate this one too. I wish I owned stock in Apple right now.

Next up, I hope Apple improves its iPhone.  That Droid is getting pretty darn popular.

Well, as I am going to bed I know there is some one walking over to a mall.  They are setting up a tent.  They have called in sick to work.  They must be the first to have that new juicy Apple product.  I’ll wait a little longer this time around... heh or maybe I wont.  I’m an easy sell.