31–40 of 127 posts
Reddit did the same. I was a paid user of Alien Blue (no ads), then Reddit acquired it, killed it and now we have the new Reddit ad-rich app.
yeah, check out narwhal. its pretty good. not great, but better than reddit-facebook
Take it from someone who’s worked with client apps making ten times as many downloads at similar price points: if you want to be successful in the app business you need to look beyond optimizing App Store search terms. You need to be marketing and promoting your application across multiple channels to a wider audience. It does not sound like this developer was doing that, so while it is sad he has had revenue slashed…
This is just another way of saying "Apple doesn't give a f*ck about indie developers." Might be true, but it's still shitty.
This is why I think every app should be sold in a subscription model. The current users of this app are very happy with it, and yet they will suffer when the developer can't make enough new sales. It's like a Ponzi scheme: everything falls down if you can't enroll enough new users. That's not sustainable.
For apps you install on your own machine, I think the JetBrains perpetual license model is probably my favourite so far. After a certain period you can stop paying the subscription and keep using the old version. But if you want to keep up to date with features and bug fixes, you keep paying the subscription. It just seems to align incentives on both sides quite well.
This is a good argument for having multiple app stores. I don't totally blame Apple's devs here: it's completely imaginable that small, innocent changes in what's no doubt an enormous codebase could have totally unpredictable effects on individual search rankings. The problem is that there's only a single point of articulation. If half a dozen app stores all got search results "mostly right", then little variations l…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure I understand this reasoning. Why should Apple or Google be responsible for promoting your app? If I walk into a supermarket and I don't see the item I wanted on their front feature displays (meaning I need to walk down the isle to find it), does that mean the supermarket is monopolistic? Does that mean the item vendor should stop selling their product in that supermarket?
Those situations are in no way comparable. It's wild to me you think they are. No one is saying they are responsible for promoting your app. What we're saying is that if they're going to lock down their platform so that you can't install apps without going through their store, then they shouldn't arbitrarily, with no explanation, destroy years of good will thats been built up by genuinely building and delivering a hi…
> If you're relying on Apple (or Google) to feature you in their search results, you're already at their whim with no recourse.
But your response is:
> No one is saying they are responsible for promoting your app.
Does higher search placement not equate to promotion, in this case?
Also, I looked it up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis
I'm not sure how it relates to my questions.
Take it from someone who’s worked with client apps making ten times as many downloads at similar price points: if you want to be successful in the app business you need to look beyond optimizing App Store search terms. You need to be marketing and promoting your application across multiple channels to a wider audience. It does not sound like this developer was doing that, so while it is sad he has had revenue slashed…
This is just another way of saying "Apple doesn't give a f*ck about indie developers." Might be true, but it's still shitty.
This is one of the primary ways that the culture's general knowledge is lagging behind technology. Our culture still thinks in terms of "notoriety," as was known in Julius Caesar's day. Andy Warhol was a bit more advanced. ("Everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame.") In 2019, the mental model should change to encompass algorithmic and viral discovery. In 2019, it's not just reputation which matters. It's not just…
Interesting thoughts. Not sure what the developer could have done differently, here? The App is published on Apple's Platform, and it's impossible for him to distribute outside the store. He has been working on it for years, been a good citizen of the App Store, and created something people seem to genuinely love and value. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I hope the legal system does eventually require Apple to…
He couldn't have done anything different. That's my point! If we cede the power of algorithmic and viral discovery to large corporations, we're ceding the powerhouse of 21st century culture to them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For apps you install on your own machine, I think the JetBrains perpetual license model is probably my favourite so far. After a certain period you can stop paying the subscription and keep using the old version. But if you want to keep up to date with features and bug fixes, you keep paying the subscription. It just seems to align incentives on both sides quite well.
I wonder if the App Store supports (or could support) this kind of model.