More App developers to target social media

As the App Store continues to grow, more developers will look to social media in order to market and distribute their applications, a leading iPhone developer says.

The comments come as Apple announced the giant App Store has recorded its two billionth download, with 80,000 apps available on the market and more approved every day.

Keith Ahern, chief executive of development studio MoGeneration, whose apps have reached the Australian and US top 10, says his company is using social media to set their apps apart as the store becomes too big to browse.

“I think if you go into the App Store with a specific focus, you’re going to get good results. But the nature of browsing and just having a look around isn’t so good anymore, it’s too big for just a browsing visit and you’re really just killing time.

“Something we’ve been working with that’s proven effective is a technology called Facebook Connect that allows you to bring your Facebook friends into an app. Your friends can see what you are using, they can look at similar apps and so on. It brings in discovery to your social network, and is a powerful way for some of our customers to share what they are using.”

His comments come after Apple said overnight the App Store has seen two billion downloads, with 500 million recorded in just the last three months.

Chief executive Steve Jobs said in a recent statement there are now 85,000 applications available to more than 50 million customers with an iPhone or iPod Touch, and is the largest application store in the world with over 125,000 developers.

“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone. The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it,” Jobs said.

The App Store has been criticised for becoming too big, with many developers saying it is becoming harder and harder to make your app stand out from the rest. This prompted Apple to introduce a “Genius” function in the latest iTunes software, that allows users to find similar apps based on the apps they have already downloaded.

But Marc Edwards, chief executive of development studio Bjango, says the size of the store will not deter new developers from entering the app market and creating new and exciting software.

“I think there will always be developers who get in and give it a go, even as it grows. And the new recommendation “Genius” system is a great way to encourage sales and keep people happy, and keep searches refined. It all depends on how much revenue you can make from it, and for the successful ones that isn’t going to disappear so you’ll still have people coming in.”