Jodi Dean’s article “Apps and Drive” explores the life of
apps on our phones and the benefits it gives consumers as well as producers. In
a society where a smartphone is more important than anything else. I’ve seen people
get injured by diving to the ground to catch their phone just so that their
phone wouldn’t fall on the ground. With our addiction to our phones, it’s no
surprise that there are millions of apps in the app store. Apps benefit phone
companies because this encourages us to use more data and encourages to buy a
nice big phone to view our app better. This benefits us consumers because it
gives us joy to play on these apps. There are apps for practically everything
even totally strange things like an app called Places I’ve Pooped which has a
map of the world and you are able to log all the different place you’ve pooped.
A pin will be dropped on the map of where you currently are and you are able to
also share this information to social media sites.
Here is a youtube review of this app: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_c8D4yfo38
My question to you is “what is an app that you’ve always
wanted to create and why?”
When trying to think of an app that I would want to create, I feel like the tech world has become so prominent and integrated in our lives that app developers have come up with apps for pretty much everything. The 'Places I've Pooped' app that you mention is the perfect example of this. I feel as though innovation and creativity has reached such a high level that people are coming up with pointless ideas trying to continue coming out with new ideas. Some app inventions are getting to be a little bit ridiculous. These apps have also resulted in the oversharing of information... Why would anyone want to know where and when you've pooped? The creation of apps have come to target all aspects of our lifestyles but there reaches a point where ideas become too far-fetched and the line between creativity and inane is blurred.
ReplyDeleteAn app that would be a good mix of creativity and convenience would be based out of Waterloo for WLU students. It would be interesting to monitor coffee lines, like Tim Horton’s and Starbucks, so you know if you can grab a coffee or not if you are in a rush going to class. I could create it to preserve people’s privacy, instead of having a video camera showing the line, it could show the number of people waiting, or a picture of the kiosk with stick figures representing how many people are in line. It would a good app that would not only be used by students, but for all faculty members as well.
ReplyDeleteAs ridiculous and useless some apps are, I think they are a great expression of creativity and fun! It’s an amazing outlet to combine your tech skills with your creative edge, to produce an idea that was once just a thought in your head, and to share with others. Also, interesting to see how many people use it and agree with your thought stream and appreciate your creativity.
As Jodi Dean notes within her article, mobile applications truly make a cellphone into an affective machine where we can escape from the pressure and stress of the real world, even if just for a short moment. While I do agree with your points that apps benefit phone companies as well as consumers, I also agree with Dean that our world’s fascination with these apps can withdraw individuals from the inequality and exploitation an iPhone enables and this is not always a positive thing. In doing some further research on this topic I came across an article that outlines how some mobile apps have the ability to broadcast user’s personal information and data through their use of wireless networks. I have experienced this in my everyday life as I have encountered multiple applications that have posted to my social media platforms without my consent. This idea is also demonstrated in McGuigan and Manzerolle’s chapter as they state, “wireless data connectivity creates the potential to maximize possibility for exchange (for example the development of mobile payment and location based services) as well as the real-time logistical data about user behavior and location. This plays a part in my everyday life as I have refrained from connecting my credit card to my phone for mobile payment. Ultimately, this is because I have recognized the exploitation that exists in the way that apps create user attachment to such an extent without apps, we feel our phones are useless. This is a downfall of mobile applications that I believe users must become more aware to ensure we can avoid the leaking of personal information at all costs.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your question, I agree with Holly that it appears almost everything has been developed into a mobile application. However, an app that I have always wanted to create is one that solves the problem of finding reliable live streaming of sports and events. Since the majority of students do not have the extra money to be spending on cable, they rely on various websites streaming live sports games. While this allows us to watch the game, we are putting our computers at risk due to the third party websites we are sent to. Thus, an app that sifts through these websites and finds reliable and high quality live sports streams would be extremely effective and beneficial to anyone looking to watch such events.
Here is a link to the scholarly article I referred to in my above discussion:
http://journals2.scholarsportal.info.libproxy.wlu.ca/details/0167739x/unassigned/nfp_ywilwdymagay.xml
It is fairly obvious that our lives are continually being influenced by a vast amount of technologies around us. Starting from cellphones to advanced medical devices, this world is obsessed with innovating and challenging our technological devices and applications. Having said this, I would love to create a mobile application that really makes us human beings aware of our surroundings. Since I am a university student, I would make an app that allows students to see what is trending and campus news that is meaningful and useful for them. It is sort of like news in Snapchat, where users can access various different online news platform from CNN, Buzzfeed to TMZ. I think campus news app would be a creative way for students to save time and paper.
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