GITweekly

So, here’s the rub. When I wrote that last post I wasn’t really prepared for the positive “droppings storm” that followed. So we’ve decided to muse some more, to further savour the roast that is App Marketing – We now present part deux.

Where were we before I rudely hit the publish button?

Marketing – in a dictionary-esque way – is what you do to sell your blood and tears. To get part of the way there we talked about simple icons and app names that said a lot with a little. The other important ingredient was the importance of “spellin’ stuff right”. Just remember baby Jesus and the tears.

Today we’re going to talk about thievery and corruption. We’re talkin’ devious. You must learn to cheat via flattery. And that sincerest form of flattery is to admire your opposition. Gaze longingly at them if you must.

Instead of programming up some objective C or Java greatness and punting it out into the ether without restraint – you must channel your inner grasshopper. Be patient and study three things to find the one answer.

The three are:

• What makes my competitor successful?
• How do they stand out above their opponents?
• And where are their flaws?

And the one answer you seek is:

• Why am I the one?

So by studying the three you’ll know that your customer is successful because, for example, their interface is more modern and clean. They stand out because they have Twitter integration. But you also realise that they are dearer than their opponents.

By knowing this you can become “the one” by exploiting those points of difference. Instead of rushing out and producing an app just like “them”, you’ll spend time creating a better interface, incorporate Facebook along with Twitter and price your app just under the leader.

Of course these are simplistic views of a complicated dilemma for the upcoming developer – but at the end of the day, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and the rest all do the same things. It’s called preparation and market research.

You may think you’re a hotshot, and it may just work out that way for you, but it never hurts to take a peek at what you’re up against. And, perhaps, decide if it’s really not worth it – do we really need another Foursquare clone?

So, until next time, I’ll leave you with this:

You must find out, by fair means or foul, why you are “the one”. Why your app is better than all others. If you cannot answer these questions or mould your app to fit those answers, now is not your time.

Just be patient grasshopper and in the immortal words of Zack De La Rocha – “Know your enemy”.

You know – we try and keep things really positive here at Git central.
We try and provide a service. We like to inform. If people comment – we post it.
But mostly we try and keep everything positive – if it’s bad we don’t talk about it.
There are exceptions.
Take my experience with Three (3) Mobile today.

Bleep goes the mobile and up pops an SMS message from the gorgeous folks at Three Mobile (3) Australia. They tell me that we’re in arrears with our bill from last month. Aah, the wonders of technology – they don’t have to ring us or send us snail mail – just a quick and easy SMS message.

But how could this be?

We pay automatically with our credit card – monthly. Quick, easy, set and forget – as promoted by the mobile phone giant.

Then the ping goes off in my head – the credit card must have expired. No worries – call them up and give them the new expiry date.

That’s when we get informed that we’ve been charged a dishonour fee of $16 dollars. Nice.

So what really sheets me off?

This is a communications company. They have the ability to SMS me to say that my bill hasn’t been paid. They have the ability to send me propaganda on my phone. They have the ability to give me crap coverage in any regional area including the back room of my home in a major suburb of Melbourne (check our dropped calls Mr Three man). They have the ability to charge me $16 dollars because I have somehow dishonoured them!

Yet they don’t understand the simple courtesy of sending me an email or SMS to say that it might be time to update my credit card details.

Thanks Three Australia. In my estimation you now rank lower than the four major banks in my ethics chart.

Can I, as a tech resource in my circle of friends and family, say that I would recommend Three as my phone company of choice? No.

Prove me wrong Three (3) Australia. Let us know what your thoughts are? According to you – you’re “A better place to be“.

I get great joy out of reading the satirical brilliance spewing forth from very clever people.

And with the rise and rise of social media and commentary we’re seeing fake Twitter and Facebook accounts being created in famous folks names – like John Howard, Linus Torvalds, and Barack Obama. It’s a sort of social satire or new media satire (NMS).

These Fake Johnny Howards and Co then spruik from on high – delighting their haters and fueling discussions amongst their constituents.

It really is healthy for democracy as long as it remains good spirited.

So that’s what we’re after – good natured and relatively clean – Fake Famous-Folk Accounts.

We’ve dedicated a page to the cause – here – and we hope you’ll all contribute.

DM us @GITweekly.com.

In the spirit of Shot of Jaq style editorial I’m posing this question as a discussion not a condemnation. Far from it in fact. Bukisa and other such content devices may be the saviour of the blog-world. Then again they could be stamped with the topical brush – Content Farm.

So a wee bit of background first – then off you all go to your corners to discuss.

Bukisa is apparently a place to share your knowledge. If your posted content (article, video, etc.) is good enough to garner some eyeballs you get paid. In the spirit of certain selling schemes, of which I will not deign to utter names, you invite your like minded friends and family to spruik their audio and visual wares on the site as well. If they get some clickage you get paid some coinage for their efforts and your persuasiveness.

Demand Media, on the other hand, gets folks to create and curate content (their words). I’m not about to say how much they’ll pay, although they themselves deem the cash to be “serious*”. That content is then used to power other sites – including YouTube. In a nutshell, Demand Media get bloggers to give them 400 words about nose hair and then on-sell that to nose-hair dot com. Create and sell using an army of eager beaver bloggers.

So the things y’all will have to have a chat about are:

• Are companies like Bukisa and Demand Media exploiting the average Joe Blogger out there – or are they providing a much needed service for bloggers without a voice?
• Are they paying the bloggers a fair wage for a fair days work?
• Are companies, like Demand Media, broadening the range of content available for all of us on the web (they appear to be able to find niche topics like no one else)?
• What damage (if any) are these types of companies causing ”Old” media?
• Does “Old” media need to be protected from the hordes of “new” media?
• Are they hurting niche bloggers?
• And are they hurting the career writers and journalists out there who actually earn their living from writing – like news journos and  feature writers (I think they are really struggling)?

Anyway, have a chat amongst yourselves.

Let us know what you think.

For my 2.5 cents.

You get what you pay for. If the content is good on the site – well and good. If it’s rubbish I don’t go back.

And for the bloggers thinking about selling their content for next to nix – is the time and effort spent at the keyboard worth the time you could be spending with you kids or exploring the world with loved ones?

Just think about it.

* Demand Media failed to say which context the word “serious” should be taken. So they could mean “lotsa” cash or they could mean the money they pay you does not have a clown printed on it.