Well everything "social" certainly has a very large mindshare and buzzshare nowadays. This is due to very nature of social apps and also due to the fact "social" apps are relatively new. The buzz of social apps is also much greater in the developer community since the basic ideas are something that everyone understands. Not every developer will be able to talk about hospital software for example but every Joe can talk about "chat widgets".
But it certainly does not have an equivalent revenue share. Put the PROJECTED revenue in 2009 of all "social" apps/platforms together and still you would still be at far less than $10bn.
You certainly can make a lot of money by building useful non-social software. It just wont be as visible or talked about.
You certainly can make a lot of money by building useful non-social software. It just wont be as visible or talked about.
Precisely. The original submitter's friend is thinking one of two things, alone or in combination:
1. "If I take this useful app and add some social networking, it will help to market itself, which means it will sell more copies faster. Maybe it will even go viral and I can quit my day job!"
2. "Given the choice between building an app that is useful but obscure and being visible and talked about, I'd rather be notorious."
Point 1 is sometimes right, but often wrong. There are lots of tools that require a more traditional style of sales and marketing... and that have no use for tacked-on social networking features.
Point 2, while not exactly wrong, is a different objective than simply making money or improving people's lives.
But it certainly does not have an equivalent revenue share. Put the PROJECTED revenue in 2009 of all "social" apps/platforms together and still you would still be at far less than $10bn.
You certainly can make a lot of money by building useful non-social software. It just wont be as visible or talked about.