technogly

  1. The app dilemma: Is it a feature, or a business?

    Every developer who makes a popular web or mobile app is eventually faced with a decision: They can either stick with the status quo or swing for the fences. A successful app can provide a nice living for a small team of one or two people. That kind of “lifestyle business” can be an attractive end in itself. But it can be very seductive to take on venture capital, hire a larger staff, and turn an app into a genuine startup. Taking that path is risky — but it also has the potential to bring on much bigger economic rewards. These days, it seems like more and more developers seem to be swinging for the fences.

    Spinning the risk-reward roulette wheel

    Buffer is one example. It’s an app that enables users to easily schedule their Tweets to be posted at a later time, and has amassed a sizable user base that is growing every day. Just seven months old, Buffer is currently bringing in enough money for founder Joel Gascoigne
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  2. Google Latitude, useful, just for fun or nefarious?

    So you may know that Google has a new product called Google Latitude. If you have a compatible cell phone you can install it and give your friends and family the ability to track you on their cell phones or a PC. You need to ask permission to track someone and they have to agree to be tracked. You can even get directions to where your friends are. Sounds kinda cool. I will even give you the link so you can check it out: http://www.google.com/mobile/default/latitude.html

    The features include the ability to share your location and privacy settings you can enable and disable should you want to go missing in action for a time period.

    I can see where this would be very useful. A real life example: while on vacation in California with friends, one of the friends took our jointly rented car for a day trip. The plan was my friend was going to go shopping

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