Many people are still scratching their
heads as to why game developer Dong Nguyen decided to pull his viral
game Flappy Bird out of app stores. Even with the game raking around
$50,000 per day on ads, the price of criticism—mostly from
frustrated gamers—was too much for him. In the aftermath of Flappy
Bird’s short-lived success, experts say this has been a learning
experience.
While business mobile apps are
different from gaming apps, any app can benefit from success in its
respective market and face technical and social challenges. Bugs in
the system can make users throw their smartphones or tablets in
anger, especially if they fail to do what they’re built to do. Even
if the app works just fine, some users will “make fun” of it
anyway.
The lessons drawn up from Nguyen’s
ordeal applies to every person who has made something, not
necessarily mobile apps,
before. There will be critics; you can’t please everyone, which is
why you don’t have to. In big cities like Sacramento,
where people use apps all the time, giving users what they need as
far as convenience goes is part of the solution; not the solution
itself.
One expert cites Flappy Bird’s
success on a technical point of view. At just under 3 MB, it’s easy
to download and quick to start after you hit one of those nefarious
green pipes. The rules of the game contributed to its success; tap to
guide the bird through the forest of sawed-off PVCs. You can try
again as many times as you like, provided you keep your patience in
check.
The next time you ask for mobile applications for your business, ponder on these factors to
help create the right one for users in cities like Sacramento.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it must not foster frustration
among your users. Even with criticisms pounding you from all sides,
keep in mind that they don’t always represent general opinion as a
whole.
