Can Mobile Apps Make a Real Contribution to Social Justice?
While Facebook’s stance on censorship remains murky, the unicorn tech giant has issued multiple statements insinuating that the platform — and Facebook live in particular — can have a positive impact by bringing transparency to everyday life. Last week’s controversial police shooting video, which was quickly removed from the platform before being reinstated after public […]
Y Combinator to Build “ultimate Full-Stack Startup”: A City
Y Combinator made a controversial announcement last week that their nonprofit arm would begin research towards building an entire city from scratch. The accelerator’s mobile app development projects have raised record-setting returns for the group, fueling a multi-million dollar nonprofit fund which Y combinator president Sam Altman hopes to grow to 100 million in coming […]
Uber Rushes to Claim the “Uber for X” Startup Market
Uber just made UberRush available publicly to mobile app developers, allowing anyone to build on-demand services on top of Uber’s existing driver and delivery network. The result? A much shorter runway for small startups looking to become “Uber for X.” Rather than sourcing and maintaining their own fleet of drivers or delivery people, developers can pay […]
Freemium Pricing: Can it Work for My App?
In just a few years, freemium pricing for mobile apps has gone from an unusual fringe strategy to the dominant pricing scheme in the mobile app industry. How dominant? Well, in 2014 98% of all app revenue in Google Play came from freemium apps in the form of in-app purchases and monthly subscription fees. Apple […]
Uber Trying to Win Back Their Most Valued Resource: Drivers
Uber, like any sharing-economy mobile app developer, has two main resources: workers and customers. This may sound simplistic, but it’s actually a tricky and unique balance in the on-demand startup industry, compared with worker and consumer relations in more traditional companies. When a mobile app becomes the interface between employer and employee, efficiency increases — […]
Apple Says App Store Ad Changes Won’t Hurt Small Developers
iPhone app developers have been voicing concerns about Apple’s new App Store app-install advertising proposal, after an email to developers announcing the beta program went out to the development community. According to Apple, Search Ads will be similar to Google Adwords in that users will place bids on relevant keywords in order to appear at […]
Dogs in the Office Increase Productivity and Lower Stress
Companies looking to boost office productivity are paying attention to a trend that started in Silicon Valley startups: dog-friendly work environments. NYC iPhone app developers have been bringing their canine companions to work for years, and now traditional businesses like Blue Cross, among others, are following suit. The result? Lowered stress levels, increased sense of […]
Top 10 Reasons Your App Might Be Rejected from the App Store
Making apps is hard. Waiting for apps to be approved by the apple app store? Nerve-wracking. For developers, the biggest frustration with the App Store review process is that apps are often returned as soon as an issue is found, rather than receiving a top-to-bottom check the first time around. For example, an app returned […]
Scholarship Programs Are a Missed Opportunity for EdTech Startups
The scholarship system offsetting the ballooning cost of a US college degree is undeniably broken. Can EdTech startups and mobile app developers offer solutions to help students pursue their futures? Workplace studies routinely find a staggering difference in income potential between a college graduate and someone with only a high school degree. Overall, college degree-holders […]
Why It’s so Difficult to Retain Talented App Developers
Engineering talent is often difficult to find, and even trickier to retain. Even as engineering salaries range into the hundreds of thousands, the dramatic shortage of educated and reliable talent leaves many companies fighting for top AI app developers with perks that go far beyond Ping-Pong tables and free meals. While most Americans struggle to make […]