100,000 users can't be wrong (Happy New Year)

As we begin 2013, I'd like to share a recent infograph charting our adoption across the globe and past the 100,000 user mark - we are truly grateful for the adoption, the praise and the loyalty of our users. Thank you and we are looking forward to an even brighter New Year.

(click to enlarge image)

Marketplaces Matter

At TheMobileYogi, we've developed a family of yoga apps for individuals, yoga studios, and other wellness-centered organizations. By far our most popular app is Yoga-pedia - available on iOS, Windows Phone, and in two Android flavors; a Google Play version and an Amazon version. In all cases, Yoga-pedia is essentially the same, but in the case of the Google Play and the Amazon versions, they are identical.

So, given the fact that the apps look, behave and perform identically, one would expect the usage patterns to be roughly equivalent as well - but, it turns out, this is not even close to accurate. The marketplaces matter - like an exclusive restaurant versus a roadside BBQ joint - the marketplaces themselves attract different kinds of users - and those users exhibit very different types of behaviors. 

Using our analytics from PreEmptive Solutions, we have found that our typical Amazon user spends 7.8 times more time in Yoga-pedia than does his/her Google counterpart. …and because of that (even though we have fewer Amazon users) the Amazon marketplace delivers thousands of hours more “face time” – and for any app that relies on user loyalty – this is critical distinction (and one that is often obscured by simply looking at app session counts, downloads, and unique users). 

Check out the following pictograph that looks at the past few months of usage across the two marketplaces…   if you're going to work to recruit a new user - an Amazon user is a much more valuable asset (at least for Yoga-pedia).

Lessons learned

At TheMobileYogi, we understand that - as with yoga - it's not just what you do, it's how and why you do what you do. This is why we have spent so much time on "app introspection" - using analytics like in the example above - to develop a deep understanding of how to best engage and motivate our users and deliver value to our studio and business clients.

...and this is how we came to recognize the importance of being prepared to deliver our clients' yoga apps across all relevant marketplaces; iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and even Windows Phone and the new Windows 8 app marketplace (and we can work with you to organize the best strategy for your needs). It's also why we've placed so much emphasis on integrating premium content into the apps as well. Cookie cutters are great for cutting cookies, but not for connecting your business to your community. - Namaste 

Content Is (still) King for mobile apps

We at TheMobileYogi have always been passionate about the importance of using premium content to distinguish mobile apps. While mobile analytics have established the positive impact that our apps can have on customer loyalty (and client revenue), it's been a challenge to objectively measure the role that our content plays. Are our apps truly more appealing to users when compared to other mobile apps that focus solely on basic tasks like registrations, calendars and coupons?

Thanks to the analytics gurus at AppMonsta, we now have empirical data comparing our approach to the more traditional “white label” development model that generates mobile apps by re-skinning registration, class browsing and other common tasks – but little more.

AppMonsta are leaders in (among other things) “sentiment analysis” across iOS and Android marketplaces. Sentiment analysis includes advanced natural language processing and computational linguistics (interpretation of user comments) to extract subjective information (sentiment and opinions) from app user comments across various mobile marketplaces.

Based on AppMonsta's objective analysis, we have been able to produce the following table that compares apps published by TheMobileYogi with one of the leading white label mobile app development shops that also focuses on yoga and other wellness-centered businesses (referred to here as "White Label, Co" for the rest of the post). In point of fact, White Label, Co is over 5X larger than TheMobileYogi with a long history of app development and design - we have chosen a leader in this space - not a loser. The key metrics shown below are used to:

• Measure total satisfaction (Passionate Index)
• Predict virality  / word-of-mouth sharing (Exuberance Index)
• Discover standout technical teams (Crash Index)
• Identify 'stickiness' and retention (Addiction Index)

What we see is a dramatic and material distinction between our content-driven apps when compared to simple student access apps.

	TheMobileYogi	White Label, Co	TheMobileYogi Advantage	Definition
Avg ratings for all titles	4.92	3.18	+55%	Average of all numeric ratings.
Avg passionate users	92%	41%	+124%	% of 5 star reviews out of total reviews.
Avg exuberance index	67	52	+29%	Based on the % of reviewers that express a palpable excitement for the app that goes beyond 5 stars.
Avg crash index	0	12	infinity	Based on the percentage of reviewers that discuss technical issues and crashing.
Avg addiction index	7	1	+600%	Based on the percentage of reviewers that reveal some level of addiction to the app.

      It’s not even close. The data is unambiguous – TheMobileYogi produces apps that users love – and that translates into user loyalty and increased revenue for our clients. Content is king – and TheMobileYogi delivers that value to those that matter most – your markets. To learn more, please visit www.themobileyogi.com  

Do Apps Have Karma?

Do Apps have karma? Of course not – they’re inanimate (this is not a post on artificial intelligence – or a Blade Runner review). However – I think it’s worth taking some time to consider how the apps we use do more than just copy, print and “like” at our command. Apps do what technology always does best; they accelerate and amplify – for better and for worse.

Facebook, Twitter, email, the presentations and inter-office memos that you write, how you interact and manage (or perhaps monitor) your clients, employees and partners through your online systems – not only reveal a whole lot about you – these apps amplify your actions and magnify your impact – and, by extension, your karma.

In short, the apps you use may not have their own karma, but how you use them can definitely impact yours.

Some people will tell you that technology changes everything – and those people are dead wrong – everything you know, you need to remember – and that has never been more true than when we’re talking about our humanity.

What do your personal apps – and your workplace apps – say about you? Is your online life in balance with your real-world life? Are you meaner online? Rude? Do you show the same consideration and patience online as you do in real time?  Even if you act anonymously (although I would challenge if that’s ever possible these days) – you will be changed by the actions you take and the online life you lead.

THEMOBILEYOGI

Some people will tell you that you can build a website or push out a mobile app whose only purpose is to make it easier for customers to part with their money going to classes or buying products or paying for services – and that for some reason, the laws of the universe will be suspended because it’s online - and that users won’t see this as grasping or even greedy.

We know that nothing could be further from the truth – the truth is still the truth; and karma is still karma.

TheMobileYogi delivers content-rich apps that users love and embrace (and will, of course, use). Our apps uniquely combine high-value content and instruction with our clients’ brand and business – And our unique analytics prove what we all intuitively know – that when you lead by giving, you’ll be rewarded in kind – and for our clients, that translates into increased loyalty, attendance and a more engaged community.

Do your apps reflect the best of you?

A short intro

This is my second blog – and, like my first, Apps Are People Too, it will be a home for thoughts and ramblings on the interplay between people and apps. You Are What You App (like you are what you eat) is centered less on technical topics and more on cognitive, ethical and (yes) spiritual symmetries – and, for those that are interested in the TheMobileYogi, you’ll find references, motivations and musings on our activities here as well.