Apps are the go-to tool for smartphone and mobile device users, and they comprise a billion-dollar industry—for example, The Guardian recently reported that iPad and iPhone users spent a collective $10 billion on apps in 2013. As using apps to do everything from buying a fridge to keeping in touch with friends becomes more commonplace, certain trends have emerged that you should keep an eye on in 2014.
Prioritizing Privacy
Privacy has been a growing concern for social media users, and these fears are finally coming to a head. On New Year’s Eve, hackers accessed and posted a database with more than four million Snapchat user phone numbers and names. Whereas privacy concerns were abstract concepts to most social media users, the reality of the threat is now reaching the hundreds of millions of smartphone owners who use social media apps.
Social media users are beginning to embrace anonymity in their apps. Take for instance Whisper, an app that combines the popularity of Internet image macros (commonly called “memes”) with interactions similar to Twitter and private messaging. Available for free on iOS and Android, Whisper removes any content that reveals personal information to protect its users. Care for the privacy of app users is a trend to watch for in 2014.
Smaller Circles
Smartphone users are hardly in a grand exodus from social media, despite privacy concerns, but many apps are beginning to see the value in smaller, more localized social functions. NextDoor, for example, requires users to sign up with their real-world physical address to connect them into a private neighborhood of nearby NextDoor users. Available for iOS and Android, NextDoor lets users share information about garage sales, local crime, missing pets or even seek handyman services from their neighbors. Social media can never replace face-to-face action, and NextDoor helps to facilitate neighbors getting together.
Direct News
Americans are getting much of their news through their smartphones and mobile devices, and many apps are growing to service that need. According to a Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism’s State of the Media Report, 23 percent of American adults get their news from more than one digital device, including desktop computers, tablets and cell phones on T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. Apps such as AP Mobile, Taptu and Google’s Newsstand are offering users quick, accessible and relevant news right at their fingertips.
Even BuzzFeed, known for its humorous lists and viral images, has recently put together an investigative journalism team to round out its team of more than 100 journalists. When a site known for pictures of cats being worn as beards is branching into foreign affairs reporting, it’s a trend to keep that bears keeping a serious eye on.