What is missing from mobile app stores

[Jackolantern]

I was thinking about the "huge store, tiny window" problem with the major app stores, which means that the stores are giant, with hundreds of thousands of apps, but the only way to find apps is either through the Top X App lists (which means it was already massively popular) or through the search, which means the user already knows roughly what they are looking for (and search is typically weighted to the most popular apps anyway). The app stores are set up now to create "clubs" of popular apps, with hundreds of thousands with no downloads.

What mobile stores need is some way for users to passively share which apps they use, the way apps work on Facebook. Sure, some apps are set to provide benefits to users to share on Facebook and Twitter, but the disconnect between seeing the like on Facebook and actually grabbing your phone to get the app is going to mean not many people will likely do it. You want there to be absolutely no barriers.

What I see as being a solution is having thin social networks built-in to major mobile platforms that hook into the core of the phone. For example, when you add someone's phone number or email someone, if they are on the network (meaning they use the same mobile OS), you can see what apps and games they have installed and click buttons to immediately download them. Of course, not everyone will want to share all apps, so perhaps when you download an app, there could be an option to hide it from the network. And to help create a value for people to join the network in the first place (obviously you would want to make it optional), the OS creators could offer optional discounts that developers can add to their apps when the app is found through the network perhaps for the first and second times by each user. This would be a value to developers as well, even when offering a discount, as once their app enters the network it is likely to at least receive a lot of exposure. And it would be of value to the platform owners themselves, since the Top Apps reach saturation fairly quickly (how many more people who would buy Angry Birds hasn't already?), and this would open up a much more diverse amount of apps people install, and hopefully result in many more paid apps on each device.

To me, this is the "word of mouth" system that mobile platforms need, without any barriers. Anyone else have any thoughts?

[vitinho444]

Totally agree with you.
I think there should be a factor, like indiegogo crowd funding website which by downloads and page views a app could increase the visibility depending on that factor.

[hallsofvallhalla]

agreed along with other things like half star reviews will ultimately remove a app for good or it must be resubmitted. There is a ton of trash on the app stores and copies of the same game over and over just done a little different.