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There’s Not an App for That
I’d be a hard-hearted individual, indeed, if I didn’t feel at least a modicum of sympathy for Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. The world is his technological oyster, yet the pearl of good health eludes him.
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His recently announced medical leave of absence – certainly not the first – and his disturbing transformation from robust looking entrepreneur to gaunt survivor (though I thought he’d been looking better lately), should cause any sentient being to pause for a moment of reckoning – an accounting, if you will. Kind of like the tally currently taking place on Apple’s own App Store web site. You’ve, no doubt, seen the counter ticking away, heralding the onset of the magical 10 billionth download.
At this point, I know I’m supposed to just take this counter for the opportunistic marketing ploy that it is, and leave it at that. But I just can’t. I can’t let it be. Sorry Beatles. The counter speaks to me. What were all these apps? How many were really used for good? How many were just idle trifles? How many were used for ill intent? (Such as kids using the
sub-frequency Mosquito Repellant app in classrooms to annoy the heck out of other students as they try to concentrate. A certain 16-year-old progeny of mine says it’s a common practical joke).
I wonder what kind of impact report you could generate if you categorized all those app downloads and gauged their effect. Have they achieved more for constructive good, or does the balance swing the other way? For that matter, I also wonder if Steve Jobs has his own gauge running. His personal counter of achievements has been spinning in overdrive for decades. But what happens when that counter stops? Does the big guy (or gal) in the sky run an impact report? It’d be great to massage those numbers a bit ahead of time. But I suspect there’s not an app for that.
That’s the metaphysical thought for the day. Now stop reading blogs and go download some apps. Your choices range from Carbon Footprint Calculator to WinAsUGo Mobile Casino. Good luck with your own counter!
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Author: Gary Grant
As Senior Creative Producer / Director at Mindclay, Gary's crazy-quilt background includes on-air investigative reporting, program production, product development, creative team leadership, distance education, instructional design, B2B + B2C media, and a bizarre host of seemingly unrelated experiences that power the creative reactor as needed.
4 Comments to “There’s Not an App for That”
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I have to argue that the "idle trifles" as well as the practical jokes fall into the category of an App used for good.
I mean, what's NOT good about wasting some time playing Angry Birds and tormenting your teachers, right? :)
Now we know what kind of student YOU were! But you raise a valid point. I guess the app-eal is in the eye of the beholder.
"sub-frequency Mosquito Repellant app"… it's a good thing I didn't have these sorts of things at my disposal as I was already driving my teachers nuts without the help of electronics back then..: )
Great article! I too am curious to see an overall "impact report"! Although, I doubt we would like what we see. ;)
"sub-frequency Mosquito Repellant app"… it's a good thing I didn't have these sorts of things at my disposal as I was already driving my teachers nuts without the help of electronics back then..: )
I too would be curious to see an "impact report"… although I'm sure we would like what we find in it ;)
Great post – thanks!
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