Facebook Messenger Opens Native Payments to Bot Developers
There’s been a lot of chatter about the “bot revolution” the past few months, but the spread of bot app usage among mainstream mobile app users has been slow at best. Part of the reason behind that, at least on go-to messaging platform Messenger, is the limitation on payments. Specifically, in order to make a […]
What Is the Role of a Non-Technical Startup Founder?
Non-technical startup founders often get a bad rap in the tech world. This is partly because there’s simply a scarcity of quality technical talent — and partly because many non-technical founders try to jump to the top of the ladder without proving their value. Take a look at Hacker News, Quora, Reddit, Medium, or anywhere […]
Founder Problems: Mobile Advertising Is Fundamentally Broken
Have you surfed the web on your iPhone or Android without an ad blocker lately? I certainly hope not — it’s a dark, cluttered place. For those not using ad blockers, driving down the Internet superhighway feels more like hitchhiking on a shady dirt road. iPhone app developers haven’t had to deal with this problem […]
Social Networking App Developers: Go Niche, or Go Home
Instagram for photos. Snapchat for goofing off. Facebook for letting Mom know you’re still alive. Social network startups have changed a lot since the days of MySpace, and the trend for app developers is clear: niche services win out over all-purpose networks. The “social network-ization” of popular music video sharing apps like Thriller and Music.ly […]
New Film Explores the Cultural Effects of Mobile Technology
Mobile is entering adulthood. More than 60% of US adults own smartphones, and virtually everyone connects to the Internet daily. iPhone app developers launch around 1,000 apps every day. Everyone from grandmothers to children use smartphones to communicate and network. So, it’s a fitting time for a film by renowned documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog to […]
How to Guess Startup Success Without Knowing What They Do
Yahoo’s $4.8 billion sale to Verizon in recent months has drawn the eyes of the tech community. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is bearing the brunt of that attention, but you’d never know it from a recent Bloomberg Businessweek interview. In conversation, Mayer seemed confident and relaxed about the huge changes to the company, and the […]
Baidu Betting Big on Augmented Reality as Mainstream Feature
Baidu has announced that they’ll soon be launching DuSee, an augmented reality platform, to join their fleet of mobile services. While Baidu’s image recognition software is known for being somewhat rough around the edges and early previews of DuSee have some rough edges of their own, the fact that a major Chinese company is launching […]
Mobile Tech for Elderly Users Is a Huge Startup Opportunity
If you’ve ever tried to walk your grandparents through the basics of using an iPad or iPhone, then you know getting elderly users is an uphill battle. Smartphones are simple to those of us who started using them as young people, but the basics of mobile app usage are as mysterious to older users as […]
Video Could Be the next Disruptive Force in Mobile Ecommerce
MikMak, a video shopping service for mobile, just closed a $3.2 million seed round — and it’s got the attention of mobile app developers looking for the “next big thing” in ecommerce trends. Since launching last year, the disruptive app has gained an impressive following among younger demographics through a blend of custom content and […]
What Are the Alternatives to SMS Codes for Digital Security?
Well, it’s happened — the hackers have gotten into the text messages. According to a new report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, SMS codes are no longer sufficiently safe for use in two-factor authentication. This is big news for web and app developers alike, as the symbiotic relationship between our phones and […]