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mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!

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Curate'don’t'Innovate'Mobile'Applications'in'the'Age'of'Discovery''

''In!this!trends!briefing,!Graham'Brown!of!mobileYouth! looks!at!the!rising!tide!of!mobile!applications!and!asks!–!who'is'driving'innovation?!!!As! app! usage! continues! to! grow,! the! premium! on! innovative! differentiation! is!higher! than! ever! but! where,! exactly,! should! the! industry! be! looking! for! this!differentiator?!It!seems!that!we’re!following!our!bad!habits!of! investing!heavily!in!topFdown!innovation.!It’s!the!same!process!that!gave!us!LBS,!MMS!and!mobile!payments! back! in! the! early! 2000s! –! too! much,! too! early,! too! irrelevant.! App!discovery! tools! are! the! latest! in! a! crop! of! topFdown! innovations! that! aim! to!replicate! the!oldFfashioned!design! thinking! innovation!model;! i.e.! innovation! is!the!product!of!genius.!!I’d! like! to! explore! the! flipFside! of! the! coin.!App' innovation! won’t! come! from!innovation! labs,! product!managers! or! IDEO! like! design! agencies! but! nameless!youth'in'the'street.!They,!after!all,!gave!us!SMS.!They!gave!us!Facebook!and!the!forerunners!of!iTunes.!They!even!showed!us!how!to!use!BBM!properly.!Shouldn’t!we! be! looking! here! for! our! application! innovation?! Innovation! labs,! product!managers!and!design!agencies!shouldn’t!be!trying!to!innovation,!they!need!to!be!in!the!business'of'curation.!' '

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mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!

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Are'we'becoming'an'App'culture?'App!usage!nearly!doubles!in!year!!Mobile!app!usage!has!increased!91%!over!the!past!year,!web!usage!has!also!increased!but!at!the!slower!rate!of!16%.!What!is!driving!the!uptake?!!'

''With'App'usage'reaching'record'levels,'the'premium'on'discovery'is'high'!!In!this!article!on!GigaOm,!the!author!raises!some!key!concerns!about!the!recent!spate!of!App!discovery!tools!being!developed!by!high!profile!names!like!Yahoo!!!

Many!developers!seem!to!be!banking!on!the!fact!that!users!are!willing!to!turn!to!apps!to!find!other!apps.!A!recent!rash!of!app!discovery!tools!available!for!iOS!devices!(including!one!out!of!left!field!from!Yahoo)!definitely!identifies!a!problem,!but!I’m!not!sure!it!provides!any!real!lasting!solutions.!

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mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!

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Are'youth'the'missing'link'in'Discovery?'Youth'key'to'influence'both'in'peer'groups'and'with'adults''Have!we!bet!the!bank!on!centralized!discovery,!innovation!and!education!of!applications!when!all!along!the!answer!was!right!there!under!our!noses?!What!role!do!youth!play!in!the!Age!of!Discovery?!!Recent!industry!data!shows!30%!of!adult!apps!downloaded!to!their!phones!were!actually!instigated!by!their!children.!So!youth!may!be!a!Trojan!Horse!in!the!Age!of!Discovery!but!this!is!only!a!drop!in!the!ocean!of!their!potential.!

''But!not!everybody!will!be!convinced.!It!depends!on!your!world!view.!Either!you!see!innovation!as!a!function!of!genius!or!a!social!process.!Either!application!innovation!is!a!product!of!genius!creative!agencies!like!IDEO,!product!managers!and!innovation!departments!or!you!see!it!as!a!function!of!genius!markets.!After!all,!19!year!olds!gave!us!Facebook,!Napster,!BBM!and!SMS!–!to!name!but!a!few!surprises!that!emerged!from!the!genius!of!countless!social!interactions.!!!' '

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mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!

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What'role'do'youth'play'in'App'innovation?'Youth'are'key'Innovators''Here’s!a!collection!of!how!!organizations!are!harnessing!the!innovative!potential!of! youth! –! in! store,! in! office,! in! school.! Everyone’s! doing! it! because! they! love!doing!it!and!no!money!is!changing!hands.!Big!brands!like!Google!and!Apple!aren’t!pumping! hit/miss! products! onto! their! high! end! users! like! the!mobile! industry!has!been!doing! for!years.!The!risk! is!absorbed!by!young!users!who!evolve!and!cocreate!the!product!before!it!reaches!market.!!!

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Here’s!a!picture!from!the!Apple!Store’s!own!strategy!to!capture!youth!innovation.!Invite!youth!to!Apple!Camps!with!the!lure!of!being!able!to!create!&!record!your!own!videos!and!music.!Which!selfFrespecting!teenager!wouldn’t!be!attracted?!Now!you!have!a!free!focus!group!highlighting!all!the!potential!usage!scenarios!evoked!by!a!team!of!fearless!developers.!

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Things!have!obviously!moved!on!since!I!last!saw!a!bunch!of!developers.!These!are!all!young!and!female.!They!are!the!Droidettes!patronizing!Google’s!app!labs.!Google!knows!that!by!harnessing!and!training!these!volunteer!developers!they!create!a!conduit!for!not!only!innovation!but!also!insight!and!marketing!for!the!next!gen!of!apps.!

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The!very!cool!Youth!Applab!in!DC,!USA.!Young!kids!developing!apps,!for!education,!for!fun.!These!youngsters!are!passionate!about!what!they!do.!They!are!Amateurs!and!amateurs!are!key!to!the!future!of!application!development.!Amateur,!in!Latin!(Amator)!means!“to!love”!and!in!this!era!of!attention,!being!simply!“liked”!means!you!might!as!well!be!invisible.!!

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mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!

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Top'Down'vs'Bottom'Up'Innovation'The'future'of'Apps'is'out'there,'beyond'our'control'!

!!It’s!happening,!it’s!taking!place!out!there!already!and!we!are!not!party!to!it.!Rather!than!interrupt!it!and!try!to!impress!our!own!ideas!on!the!social!process,!why!not!simply!support!it!–!like!Apple!and!Google!are!doing?!And!it’s!not!just!going!to!take!place!in!Cupertino!or!DC,!think!of!the!potential!of!young!mobile!owners!in!China!and!India!alone.!According!to!mobileYouth.org!data,!1!in!5!of!the!world’s!mobile!owning!youth!will!be!living!in!India!by!2012.!China!has!already!taken!the!lead!with!its!3rd!party!Android!market.!!Quote!from!article!in!Technode:!!

“There’re!lots!of!3rd!party!Android!markets!in!China,!including!AppChina!(invested!by!Innovation!Works),!which!also!crossed!an!aggregate!of!over!100!million!downloads,!HiApk!(by!game!vendor!NetDragon),!Aimi8,!Eoemarket!and!Mumayi.!,!none!of!those!markets!have!generated!positive!and!consistent!revenue!yet!...!because!the!majority!of!Android!apps!are!offered!for!free.”!

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mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!

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Contact'mobileYouth'!To!find!out!more!about!the!mobileYouth!Report!and!how!it!can!help!you!please!send!an!email!to!josh.dhaliwal@mobileyouth.org!!Josh'Dhaliwal,'Director'http://www.mobileYouth.org!http://www.mobileYouthreport.com!!UK:!+44!20!3286!3635!North!America:!+1!646!867!3635!South!Africa:!+!27!11!08!3635!1!Asia:!+852!8176!3650!!

youth marketing insights for handset brands,

MOBILEYOUTHyouth marketing mobile culture since 2001

THE MOBILEYOUTH 2013 REPORT

content providers and operators

features:29 reports

400+ pagesdata, charts, cases

mobileYouth: tracking youth & mobile culture since 2001

MOBILEYOUTHyouth marketing mobile culture since 2001

THE MOBILEYOUTH 2013 REPORT

http://www.mobileyouth.org