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Ask HN: Is it better to be collaborative or secretive when releasing an app?

2 points by danreed07 ↗ HN
Hey guys,

I've been working on an app, and I'm about two weeks from it ready to demo. I've always been confused about launch... Apple seems to favor keeping things a secret and building up to a big reveal, while the other camps touts release early and release often.

Should I be releasing a demo teaser or should I wait and do it all in one lump-sum? What is the criteria for deciding this?

5 comments

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dotmanish
Do you have an audience who is at least aware of the app's problem space, or is it just you who knows about that app?
danreed07
It's one of those latent needs, in the way that Snapchat and Facebook doesn't really solve a problem going in (Not that I'm comparing my app to theirs, they just most easily come to mind). I've shown it to a few people in my circle, and they think it's kind of cool.
brudgers
A few remarks:

0. Odds are that your business is not Apple. Odds are that your business interests are at least somewhat adversarial to Apple's because Apple wants some of your businesses money.

1. My typical reference article is: https://blog.ycombinator.com/minimum-viable-product-process/

2. My standard suggestion is to consider building a webapp before an app store app because it allows showing the app to users without going through the approval process; and if the app is successful, a website will be needed to support it; and a webapp can be iterated in a matter of minutes versus weeks or months or never for app store approval.

Good luck.

danreed07
A good read. Thanks for the link. I don't think I'm able to build a webapp version because the technologies & form-factor for this app is exclusive to smartphones.
brudgers
What about the problem? Can it be partially solved without a smartphone? Can it be partially solved by a smartphone using its browser? What smartphone systems actually solve the problem versus providing a basis for additional features?

For example, geolocation makes it easier to review a restaurant, but it is not necessary in order to do so. Access to the user's contacts makes it easier to send people messages, but it is not strictly necessary because typing the information in is an option.

Another way of looking at it is the difference between solving a problem (possibly using a smartphone) and writing an app. Writing an app has a lot of tail wagging the dog...getting through the review process is just part of it. The second part is getting people to notice the app...all apps on the app store are presented in a standardized format. That's great for Apple and Google. It's great for lousy apps because they look pretty much like good apps. It is terrible for any good app with a story to tell, because there is no way to tell that story.