My question: How far can we go? How else can technology change the way people access information? The iphone, the newest "big thing" is known for its thousands upon thousands of applications. You can find an application for anything, as states their slogan "there's an app for that". But how much of an effect do these apps really have on our society and the way we access information? Well, here are some statistics for one of their latest apps- MMOD, or March Madness on Demand: First, there have been over 702,000 average daily users on MMOD. Also, an average of over 20 minutes per day were spent streaming MMOD on the iphone per unique visitor.
This goes to show that the way people are accessing information is constantly changing, but why change something that already works so well? These people who are using MMOD regularly are probably also watching the games on TV, looking up statistics on the internet, and even reading about it in the newspaper, so what do they need this app for? Personally, I don't get it. It's not any faster. Maybe it's the conveniency that makes this new app so popular, the ability to stream while at dinner or a party where one doesn't have a computer or TV. What do you think?
Picture from: http://frankinsight.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/marchmadness_logo_normal.gif
Picture from: http://frankinsight.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/marchmadness_logo_normal.gif
As a guy who watches March Madness religiously, I can promise you the more access I can have, the merrier. I watch games live from my computer whenever I can, because it is the best tournament in the world besides the World Cup. I am sure the app market for this is very very profitable, seeing that I am not even that crazed over it, but there are many many more people who are. The app market is interesting in the sense that people are willing to spend $1 or $2 and even up to $5 for anything that will help them do something they find interesting. I love the post, great topic
ReplyDeleteSoph,
ReplyDeleteI do not get it either since I do not have an iphone but listening to my friends talk about all their different apps makes me want to learn more about what the iphone has to offer. It is interesting because I have a blackberry and I have a computer with Internet access, but still I feel like I need to learn more about the iphone. Why do you think this is? I am not sure why I personally feel this way but I know that many people are on a similar page. Most people use more than one social media platform because one is just not enough and people want to learn about all the different social media opportunities. The same goes for the iphone. It opens up a world for many new opportunities. The app market is a great contribution and I agree with Brandon when he says that people are willing to spend up to $5 on an app if it sounds interesting.
Sophie,
ReplyDeleteLike Brandon, I do think this a wonderful post....good work (yes I am extremely biased.) Anyway, I'd like to share a few thoughts I have on this post and about how sporting events are becoming easier to watch no matter where you are. This craze of watching sports on your phone, computer and television all began with World Cup on Demand (WCOD.) This service allowed people to watch all World Cup games on their iPhones, and also streaming live on ESPN.com The most surprising part about the audiences for the World Cup and March Madness is that the majority of viewers tuned in on their computers not TVs. When I read about this I was absolutely shocked that people were choosing to watch online and not on the good old tube. Like you mentioned Sophie, I think people use both the internet and TV as a way to watch more than one game at a time and keep up with statistics. It's a little bit scary how accessible sports are becoming, but as an avid sports fan....you won't hear me complaining anytime soon.