There’s an app for that

Ever wonder if you should create an application, i.e. an app, related to your organization for people to use on their phones? The answer is maybe or maybe not just yet.

Let’s look at the current market of people who use apps. A Pew Internet Study found that

• 82% of adults surveyed used cellphones
• Out of those 82%, only 35% have apps on their cell phones
• Only 24% said they use the apps on their phone and
• 11% had no idea what an app was or if their phone had one

If you’re trying to reach young, male, college graduates earning $75,000+ per year, then creating an app is for you right now. Otherwise you’re likely in the not just yet category.

Connections

Online applications are very helpful tools. The programs are based online and can allow you to do work just by plugging in basic information. Once example is Mention Map. It is an application that shows you current connections for any Twitter username (including your own). Here’s an example: Mention Map for ACHIEVA’s Twitter feed. It works by looking as hastags you use and connections your Twitter account has to create a visual image of your “map”.

How is this helpful for you? You can see who your followers interact with, you can see who might be of interest for you to follow, you can see who is writing about a similar topic or uses similar hashtags, and you can see who might be interested in you without having realized it. It’s a fun tool and I would take a few minutes to play with it.