As The App Store Grows Ever Larger, Developers Must Strive To Stay Transparent
May 26, 2011
The App Store, birthed with and backed by unwavering ambition, is perhaps the richest, most thriving environment in the entire consumer technology industry. Comprised of tens of thousands of developers and nearly 400,000 apps, Apple's old, retired slogan is truer now than ever before: Whatever you can think of, there is an app for that.
And usually, there's more than one.
Much of what we at AppAdvice strive to bring our readership is a sort of giant app filter to separate the good from the bad (and the great from the good). Doing so is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult, but we all address our examinations with distinct, explicit criteria. For me, perhaps the single most important criterion is developer openness.
Before I started writing here (and before I had a direct, professional avenue by which to establish discourse with various developers), I would sometimes email developers with questions, comments, and suggestions for updates and revisions. Typically, their responses were a reliable litmus test for whether or not I'd continue giving them my business. If I felt ignored or that my concerns were going unaddressed, I probably wouldn't buy anything more from the individual or company in question.
At first, it was easy to spot an uncaring or unmotivated developer, but now -- as the App Store grows ever larger -- dedicated, well-meaning app makers are finding it harder and harder to respond to users in any personal way. If these developers then become truly successful, much of the individualized customer service they may have exhibited early on is often blotted out by the overwhelming attention that comes with new popularity.
For this reason, it is extremely important for app developers to establish online identities reflective of who they really are. When I purchase an app (or, really, any product), I like to know as much as possible about who's receiving and benefiting from my money. If I'm on the fence about an app -- or stuck comparing one to another -- the developer with the stronger social presence usually wins out.
I don't expect answers to all of my questions anymore. Instead, if I see that a person or company is engaged with their user base (be it via Twitter, Facebook, or just a plain old blog), I feel more confident that updates will be judiciously put forth and that I -- and my purchases and recommendations -- won't be made in vain.
Developers who wish to remain anonymous have a decidedly uphill battle in establishing a faithful following; and, in some unfortunate cases, user confusion has prompted lost sales and even App Store expulsions. I contacted one such developer, as their company website was a mere holding page and offered only a single email address. There were no names, faces, phone numbers, or addresses connected to the company. The site didn't have even a basic "About Us" section (and all its Whois data was confidential, to boot). When I asked for more information to share with our readers, the developer told me, "Our identity is as public as possible." The developer has since been banned from iTunes and, ironically, blames "identity confusion" for its ouster.
Certainly, developers with real names and faces are far more likely to garner positive word-of-mouth reviews and ratings.
After all, if a developer is willing to put his personal reputation behind a project, we all find it easier to get behind, too.
