Thanks to everyone for coming to our second iPhone Meetup last Thursday in San Mateo. The room was packed with more than 100 people who listened intently to our panel of developers talk about their strategies for app discoverability and a couple of app reviewers give great tips for how to get your app noticed by them.

The Meetup also spurred quite an interesting discussion across a number of blogs on why developers are so excited about the iPhone vs. the other major platforms – Nokia Ovi, Google Market, Blackberry Appstore, or Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile.  It’s worth reading posts from Ewan MacLeod, Mike Rowehl, Om Malik, and Cristine Gonzales. Not surprisingly, we also have strong opinions on this subject. Read Jason Spero’s guest column in VentureBeat today for our take on this debate.

There was one great quote from Thursday night that I wanted to call out as I think it summarizes the opinions of many developers in this debate. When asked if they will you develop for Android one of our panelists responded “depends on whether or not Android ends up being like old school mobile.”  It was also interesting to see that only one person in the room, out of more than 100, raised their hand when asked if anyone was working on an app for Windows Mobile.

Here are some highlights from our panel on consumer discoverability –

• Cross promotion: Panelists highlighted the importance of cross promoting your app to existing audiences.  Jirbo promotes new apps in other apps within their existing portfolio and Zynga said they draw upon their user base in Facebook.  If you don’t have access to an existing user base, try to find partner with an existing user base online.
• Apple publicity: Unfortunately, there were no grand insights as to obtaining the coveted free publicity from Apple.  The only suggestion was to make apps “that Apple likes.  You don’t see any fart apps highlighted.”
• Word of Mouth: While obvious, the panelists focused on “making lovable products” that users want to tell their friends about.  Build in features that let users engage other users or invite friends to play along.
• Free vs Paid: Most panelists agreed that there is plenty of room for both free and paid apps in the store and they would be developing both given that the number of downloads for paid apps is “not even close” to the number of downloads for free apps.  In addition to monetizing with ad networks, Citizen Sports discussed the high value of getting sponsorships – if the audience of your app appeals to particular brands.
• Analytics and User Feedback: The panelists stressed the importance of monitoring user behavior and using actual data to inform feature and enhancement decisions.  After noticing a huge drop off in usage after Level 30 of their app, TapJoy made the level easier which resulted in an immediate 20 percent increase in game play.
• On iPhone 3.0 OS: Zynga believe that the lifetime value of a user could increase 2-3 times as a result of micropayments.  Although panel wasn’t excited about Apple taking a 30 percent cut for simply processing payments.
• Importance of hardware: With all the talk of operating systems, Jirbo pointed out that hardware is also a critical component and wondered why Google chose not to develop a phone as well saying that “the G1 is like the Commodore 64.”  Although those who had seen the G2 in the audience did say it was a step in the right direction.

And in spite of the tough economy, two of our panelists (Zynga and Jirbo) both said they are looking to hire developers, certainly a good sign for the mobile ecosystem.

Based on positive feedback and strong attendance, we will likely more Meetups in the future.  Sign up for our Meetup group to be notified.

Mike F.
Product Marketing