Hey Developer Guy Read This Before You Build That App

So, I was reading an interview in Wired Magazine on Marc Andreessen, the creator of the first browser, this past weekend and he was asked about the future of the web. In the article titled ‘The Man Who Know’s What Next,’ Marc states “The application model of the future is the web application model. The apps will live on the web. Mobile apps on platforms like iOS and Android are a temporary step along the way toward the full mobile web.”

I interviewed Ari Stein of WahWah.FM a month or so ago and he told me “Who knows 5 to 10 years from now apps may not even exist.” This was a very interesting statement to me, because WahWah.FM is a mobile app which is currently available for iOS users only with plans to create an Android app once additional funding is secured. I pondered about making that statement the title of the post but I wanted to focus on their product because I think it’s great.

With that being said, the average developer or start-up doesn’t have the backing like Pandora or Spotify to launch on every platform so they usually end up making the choice between Android and iOS. Which is like choosing between the Democrats and Republicans. So which way should I go? Android or iOS? Well, I have an old Blackberry Torch so I guess I’m voting independent.

There is no doubt that today consumers are in a stage of app fatigue, which means they have so many apps being thrown at them there is no way they can keep up. In the words of the great Vince Lombardi, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all. ” So when you become a coward like I have become, you stick to the same 3 to 5 apps you have been using. In my case it’s Facebook, Twitter, GMail and an occasional check-in on Foursquare.

In order for any app to stand out amongst all the clutter in today’s market it has to be as addictive as crystal methamphetamine, backed by a few dollars from known investors or have a few celebrity endorsements.

We are a few years a way from the mobile web being where it needs to be, but if I were developing an app I would look at Android and iOS as temporary landing pages until the web application model fully materializes. Until then: Eat, Sleep, Tweak and Repeat…