My hatred for Angry Birds has caused me to create several blog posts about it.  Perhaps I’m starting to enjoy the game and all of its offerings? ….No.  The truth is, Angry Birds has a brilliant marketing [...]]]> Is Angry Birds making more money through their free ad-supported version or through people purchasing the application?

My hatred for Angry Birds has caused me to create several blog posts about it.  Perhaps I’m starting to enjoy the game and all of its offerings? ….No.  The truth is, Angry Birds has a brilliant marketing strategy, retention rate, and the game is well made.  Today I’m writing about some other research I’ve done on the game.

For those of you who have an Android device, you will have noticed a free version of Angry Birds.  I myself was quite shocked when I turned on my new tablet to see Angry Birds installed already. I opened the application and found it to be supported from ads.  I played my usual five minutes before uninstalling to see if it was fast and smooth, which it was.  During the couple minutes however, I accidently clicked on one of the ads.  Granted I did this by mistake, but being an Adsense user, I realized they just made a nickel (plus or minus) off of me.  Now, five cents is nothing to be proud of, but it made me think – are they (Rovio) making more money by selling the app one time for a dollar, or over time by ad clicks?

Angry Birds has been downloaded over 500 million times, which is crazy by any standards.  During the first quarter in 2011, Angry Bids generated 20 million in revenue.  Two-thirds of this came from people purchasing the game, which means that the other third came through ads.  The biggest thing to keep in mind is that once a game is purchased through the app store, the most they will make is that dollar.  You buy it for a buck – you own it.  Through ad generated revenue, it comes from people playing the game.  The higher your retention rate is, the more clicks you will have.  Currently, Angry Birds is getting over 10 million ad impressions per month.  The number keeps rising.

angry birds ads

As the number of people who have purchased the product increases, their demand for app sales will slow.  The opposite effect to this is; the more people that play the game, and play the ad supported version (which is the majority of Android users), the more money they will generate.  It will most likely be another year before the ad revenue outweighs the revenue coming from the app purchases.

Rovio announced that they will be releasing 5 new titles in the coming year, which tells me that the sales are starting to slow on Angry Birds.  Let’s be honest, if the application is selling strong, why would you release more competition against yourself?  It wouldn’t make sense.  The only reason they would release new titles is to help get the profit margins back that they will be losing, or no longer creating.

Based on how they have been marketing the game, if they can keep people coming back to play the ad supported version, they will continue to make money.  Sure, they may lose money up front for giving their product away for free, but it’s a strategy; they’re appealing to those who don’t spend money on apps.  Keep them playing and the money will keep flowing.  That's my odd thought for the day.

I am freaking sick of seeing Angry Birds in the iTunes Top Apps.  Seriously, get it the heck off of the top list.  I made a rant earlier about how this stupid game is everywhere [here] – it just never seems to go away.  You would think [...]]]> How does iTunes pick their Top Apps?

I am freaking sick of seeing Angry Birds in the iTunes Top Apps.  Seriously, get it the heck off of the top list.  I made a rant earlier about how this stupid game is everywhere [here] – it just never seems to go away.  You would think by the time the entire planet has downloaded it on their browser, computer, phone and tablet; that it would eventually go away.  It just won’t die.  I’ve come to wonder how iTunes and the Android Market pick their top apps as a result of this.

Do they base their top apps on what’s cool, the amount of downloads, dollar amount grossed, or what the Kardashians think is popular?

Well, to start the ever-exciting search, I turn to Google.  After a few keyword searches, I am unable to come up with anything substantial.  Yahoo! Answers keeps jumping into my top results; but I’m convinced that the majority of their users, at one point, used to eat paint chips.  Everyone just puts their best guess on there – making the material for this unreliable.

itunes top apps

After enjoying a few good laughs on there, I turn my search to the official iTunes website.  Thinking I would be able to find some useful information on a webpage for the biggest company in the world; I once again come up disappointed.   When I run my searches, I keep coming up with user-guides for various devices, which can sort through the top apps, but nothing on how they’re actually chosen.  I get the same information on the Apple Developers site [https://developer.apple.com/], but at least am given information on how to market an app.

Not being able to find anything in writing from Apple, we’re left to guess on how these magical Top Apps are picked.  If you want a best guess, here is mine.

I believe Apple is picking their top apps based on a few different criteria:

• Downloads – how many people are downloading the application
• Sales – how many people are purchasing the application
• Continued sales – how many people are purchasing over a given period of time, not a per month basis – rather, overall
• How popular the company is promoting it – If Travel Channel for example is trying to push an app, it is more likely for that to become a top app due to the audience they already have through their television network (this is happening now)
• Profit to Apple – the amount of profit Apple is making off of the application
• Playability – does it play well and was it put together properly?
• Retention rate of the application – How many people keep the app and not uninstall it after a couple weeks.  If someone purchases the app and gets bored of it, deletes it, then what good was the application?
• Updates – if there’s a flaw in the application, is it addressed and are future updates coming out to help with the retention of the application?

I feel that there’s a given solution to the bullet points above.  Apple loves their money but they are also highly concerned about their image.  If someone out there knows their exact formula on how they do this, please let me know as I have been unable to locate anything through hours of searching.  That's been my odd thought for the day.

several files all packed into a zip file

valveadjustmentworksheets <—-right click, save-as, if it doesn’t download

My current gripe comes from the “green” [...]]]> In my current profession, I have the joy (or dismay) of traveling across the country. With this, I have the pleasure of living out of hotel rooms about 300 days of the year. More and more I am seeing “green” things starting to shine their sometimes good, but often, ugly heads.

My current gripe comes from the “green” shower heads that I’m seeing. The current room I’m staying in has the water flow of a tsunami in the bathtub, but the moment I turn the shower head on, it’s like someone with stage fright trying to urniate in front of an audience.

Doesn’t that means it’s doing it’s job right?  Well, yes and no.  Yes, the water flow has been restricted, so basically nothing is coming out; thus making it “green” and good for the environment.  The problem is, that I find myself staying in the shower 2-3 times longer than I normally would, to get the same feeling of clean.  In a proper bathroom the water isn’t restricted.  This gives me the joy of standing under a waterfall, making myself feel cleaner faster.  In showers with these stupid ”green” shower heads installed, I can’t even get my entire head wet with it being directly under the nozzle.  For me, less water flow means I’m in longer to get clean; which eliminates the purpose of the shower head to begin with.

We need to do things to help the environment, it’s the only one we have.  Sometimes it seems like we’re making “green” products for the sake of doing it.  With these products we’re trying to help; but in all reality, we’re just making it worse.  My odd thought is to use things in moderation, but why punish ourselves in the process?  The water going down the drain gets recycled anyways; so do what feels good.

That’s my odd thought today

America’s health has been going down the crapper since everyone has started eating fast food, because it’s cheap and simple.  China has had an [...]]]> Here’s a shocker.  Fast food and poor diet is bad for you?  You shouldn’t eat off of the dollar menu at the fast food joint across the street every day of the week?

America’s health has been going down the crapper since everyone has started eating fast food, because it’s cheap and simple.  China has had an increase recently with diabetes since fast food has had an introduction to their country.

There’s nothing to say here other than try to eat healthy.  Yes, try to.  There’s no sense in saying “eat healthy,” since it’s near impossible now-a-days with all the temptations out there, but at least give it a college try.  Right now there’s about 346 million people worldwide with diabetes and it’s expected to be 550 million by year 2030.  You see overweight people and you seel old people… You just never see an old overweight person.

Try not to be another statistic.

That’s my not-so-odd thought today.

The reality couple from TLC’s “19 and Counting” is expecting their 20th child.

The family is happy and I suppose that’s all that matters. They are good to their family and have strong values but when do you say enough is enough?  I know it’s because of their religious beliefs that they don’t [...]]]>

The reality couple from TLC’s “19 and Counting” is expecting their 20th child.

The family is happy and I suppose that’s all that matters. They are good to their family and have strong values but when do you say enough is enough?  I know it’s because of their religious beliefs that they don’t use any form of birth control or give him the snip.

Aside from TLC, how the heck do they pay for all the food, clothes and other necessities? Jim Bob has a good job but I couldn’t imagine the food bill they need to support themselves.

Good luck and best wishes to them. Can’t wait for number 30 when she’s 60.

The other day my girlfriend asked me if guys talk in the bathroom.  In general, that is an odd question to ask.  When I told her it’s forbidden to speak while in the men’s bathroom she looked at me with the strangest look and asked me why.  I thought about it briefly and [...]]]>  

The other day my girlfriend asked me if guys talk in the bathroom.  In general, that is an odd question to ask.  When I told her it’s forbidden to speak while in the men’s bathroom she looked at me with the strangest look and asked me why.  I thought about it briefly and informed her there are golden rules.

For women, the bathroom is a safe haven to talk about boys, giggle, do their makeup and talk about what’s bothering them; which is mostly everything it seems.  The land of couches and nice mirrors are just a myth in these mystical places designed for men.

I’m not sure why it’s forbidden for guys to talk while in there.  I do know when I’m trying to take a massive number 2, I don’t want to talk about sports or weather to the guy in the stall next to me, while I can smell his fragrence.  As a matter of fact, it’s so quiet in there, that often times men find themselves trying to hold back from making noises which will echo throughout the entire men’s room.

The silence creates awkward moments ocassionally.  All too often we’re casually trying to do our business and we can hear the person next to us grunting, as if he’s in pain or passing a kidney stone.  It’s as if he waited a week to go to the toilet, or regretting eating the neon colored nacho cheese sauce from the truck stop that was on sale with purchase of chips.  It’s moments like this that break the silence. This act usually creates moments of laughter, followed immediately by moments of panic, when the fermented, robust fragrence of that man’s essence fills the room, creating immediate panic and mass chaos.

Aside from the code of silence, there’s also the rule of leaving the urinal next to you vacant on either side. As young boys, we are taught to leave the stall next to us open. This means as we walk into a bathroom, if there are 4 stalls, 2 of which are open, we go into the crapper and urinate in there, or wait for a 3rd stall to become vacant.  All too often we find men breaking this rule.  When this happens, we do not make eye contact or acknowledge them as a human being.  What’s real awkward, is when people break this unforgivable golden rule and stare at us, trying to glance into our soul or check out our manhood.

The only exception to these rules are if you go in groups of three. Only then will you have someone comfortable next to you, and you are permitted to talk.  It is acceptable for men to speak again when they are washing their hands. Only at that point have all deeds been done and full conversation may resume.

I hope this helps for all the ladies out there, or for those men who have forgotten a couple of the basic rules of the bathroom. That has been my odd thought today.