Database Users

Google and privacy

Hello!
I´m interrested in Android as well as in the tm G1.
Now the G1 is announced here in Germany for the second of february.
My problem at the moment is, that I have read and heard, that google is collecting data (everything)! So if you read the "terms and conditions", what do you think about that or don´t you care? I mean they have the rights over everything you load/send/post/get....and more!
How do you handle that fact personally for you?
Greetings!
Carter

That's just the nature of the emphasis on cloud computing. Personally my stance is simply to not conduct any business on my G1 that I would mind Google knowing/datamining. Regardless of what companies claim in their privacy policies, the very best way to 100% guarantee your data will be misused is simply to not willingly give it out.
Edit: also keep in mind that the (potentially) datamining portions of Android generally revolve around those apps and services which are closed-source apps provided by Google that are not a part of the Android Open Source Project. These include for example the Market, GMail, GTalk, and so forth.

ok, I get your point, but what is the G1 without Gmail/Calendar etc.
And thats all google.
Because of the poor response on my question I think that the majority doesn´t care about google´s data collecting hype.
In my eyes their acting is scary....imagine the details they know about you and many many other people....
just my opinion...
Greetz!

They don't collect any personal information. Not only that but they don't have people looking at these records. A computer does all the work, and is only used to find keywords.
Look at this site's search (the one on xda not google) it works by taking every word and putting it in a database and when you search the word it shows the corresponding posts. so post1 has wordA and post2 has wordA and wordB, and when you search for wordB you only get post2. The same concept is in place for google... except it goes one step further. The spider takes out words that are not needed. Well they have been using this for your GMail for sometime as well. It is why they have excellent spam control and it is why google is so awesome. They use the same process to check emails when you click links. Basically they are just trying to find out who uses what sites for what reasons. If they figure out all this they can better help you and the company you were visiting.
Chances are if you are on a site that is doing something illegal Google already knows it exisists.

someone can always watch if they want, on a g1 or PC, or anything connected. Just don't do anything dumb.

i think its obscene and absurd how gung hoe they are with it. If you want access to the playstore gawdam they better have every member of your family and every person you've ever met profiled as well as around the clock location tracking with a serial # and every keystroke on your device. And dont you dare make any attempts to disable any of their spyware or you can kiss YouTube apps and the play store goodbye. Its pathetic what they've done to Android and its users. And the reason it pisses me of the most is because I don't even really use free apps. They're all either paid for or open.

AppDevelopers.net selling at Flippa

AppDevelopers.net is selling in a public auction at Flippa.com that ends in 10 days. More information can be found as part of the auction listing.
The average cost per click in Google AdWords for "app developers" is more than $22. Per click!
Google reports as many as half a MILLION phrase searches containing "app developers" per year. As apps become more indispensable, that number is expected to increase.
With the .COM already gone, AppDevelopers.net is the last, best piece of digital property for any app development company or network for app developers.
AppDevelopers.net WILL be used for brand leverage and lead generation by somebody in the industry. It's inevitable. And they almost certainly will never relinquish such an asset once they acquire it. If I were an app developer (which I am not), I certainly would never sell this property.
The current high bid for AppDevelopers.net is just $1,500. That's the price of 68 clicks ... out of MILLIONS of searches for "app developers" over a period of 2 or 3 years.
To put that price in perspective, Pizza.net sold a week ago for $150,000 -- 100 times the price of AppDevelopers.net. Does Pizza Hut pay $22 per click to appear in search results for "pizza"? Obviously not!
"But I already have a domain." Yes, and the Library of Congress already has a door. The point is, having more than one access point can be a useful and important thing.
If people find 20 different websites in search results for "App Developers" (and they do), it matters a great deal where they click first. Will they click on the domain name that precisely matches the words they searched for? The one that seems to define the whole category? or will they click first on one of the 20 interchangeable, clever names competing for attention? I think the answer is obvious. People who search for "app developers" and see AppDevelopers.net will preferentially click on it.
Even using AppDevelopers.net for SEM can save you lots of money. If people tend to click more often on AppDevelopers.net in a paid AdWords spot compared to other ads being displayed, then Google will award that AppDevelopers.net ad a higher quality score. And that leads DIRECTLY to a lower cost per click.
Ideally, of course, you'd pair AppDevelopers.net with some quality SEO and show up organically on page 1 for "app developers" searches. All else being equal, AppDevelopers.net should have an advantage compared to non-matching domains. Even after the recent Google updates, a matching domain remains a factor. Google simply requires separate indicators of authority to back it up. And you probably already have those other factors covered.
Remember, purchasing AppDevelopers.net is not paying for a temporary service cost -- some radio ad that evaporates as soon as it's used up. Rather, AppDevelopers.net is an asset with intrinsic value -- something that can be resold like land, a house, or a car. People will be searching for "app developers" online for years to come. And .NET will always be synonymous with the internet and social networks, making it highly memorable.
Having that memorable, authoritative address means that you get maximum word-of-mouth growth. In comparison, clever, made-up names are easy to forget or misremember. And when that happens, people have to search for you in Google rather than typing your name straight into the browser bar. Obviously, if your would-be customers have to Google you, then they're running the gauntlet past 20+ aggressive advertisers competing for attention with you. So anything you can do to enable people to get straight to you is a smart move.
Renting space is always more expensive than owning it. If you pay to rent space in Google, then you'll almost certainly buy 68 clicks from AdWords. Is that really better than owning AppDevelopers.net?
Think about it. Whether you bid or not, you owe it to yourself to weigh the decision. Once AppDevelopers.net is owned by one of your colleagues or competitors, the door to this opportunity is closed.
To the moderators: If this subforum is the wrong place to post, please redirect me. Although I contacted XDA-Developers.com a couple weeks ago about the possibility of advertising on the website, nobody replied to my message. So I'm posting this thread in the forum, since I sincerely believe many members here would like to know that AppDevelopers.net (a domain that defines their profession) is for sale. By enabling me to notify members about this auction, XDA-Developers.com is providing them highly relevant information. So hopefully this message (although a promotion) will not be censored.

My Journey to a Top app - Boulder Bash

Hey guys I thought I'd make a post of my journey to making my app popular. I am new to android development and have been researching endlessly for more tips and tricks. So, I thought I'd document my journey and the steps I am taking to create a popular game. From my marketing strategies to my statistics. This way others can see what works and what doesn't.​
Basic Info:
App Name: Boulder Bash
App Category: Arcade / Action
App Link: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.SyntheticStudios.BoulderBash
App Description:
Boulder Bash is a fun action packed game. Boulder Bash is an easy to play game with exciting game play, smash your way to victory by crushing all the boulders that fall. Rack up gold from destroying boulders and purchase upgrades, miners, and cool Visual Effects!! And what exactly is the point? Well, to get filthy stinking rich... why else would you play a game? Rack up as much gold as you possibly can and show off to your friends, or hit a new personal goal. Heck, how much gold can you get?
Feel free to check out the game, rate it, download it. Heck any feedback would be great. I'm still creating new content so just tell me what you think the game needs.
Journey So far:
Day 1: I released the game and throughout the day have been making small changes and bug fixes that I find.
For my marketing strategy I was a little noobish and didn't market before my release. My first goal was to buy some initial advertising
in order to increase my downloads and get the ball rolling. Through my ad campaign I spent 5$ for the first day, keep in mind my budget is insanely low. At the end of the day the statistics from the ad campaign showed around 43 installs.
Stats: Total Downloads so far : 43, Documented Downloads (Google Dev. Console): 0, Ratings: 3 - 5 stars [Not ranked]
Day 2: The google developer console is still behind and still shows 3 5 star reviews but 0 downloads. I need to get much more advertising going on. I spent about 10$ and supposedly got around 100 downloads worldwide. I also decided to start trying to get press for my game. I went to 25 sites that review android apps and games and submitted my app for a free review. So far no responses. At the end of the day I can see 0 downloads in the dev console, but 5 - 5 star reviews.
Stats:Total Downloads so far : 143, Documented Downloads (Google Dev. Console): 0, Ratings: 5 - 5 stars [Not ranked]
Day 3: The google developer console finally updated, it shows my installs at 35/130 which means my advertising is pretty shabby. I have gotten 130 documented downloads and 35 current installs. My reviews are at 11 5- star ratings, which is great! I continued my ad campaign and spent another 10$ which net me around 80 installs worldwide. I stumbled upon some cool android forums and decided to post my game on some of them to help gain exposure. So far my goal to reach top new free has not been reached. I am still trying to gain enough exposure to gain organic downloads.
Stats:Total Downloads so far : 223, Documented Downloads (Google Dev. Console): 35/130, Ratings: 11 - 5 stars [Not ranked]

oh man, dont spend much money like this to advertise your app!

As per the app marketing tips and techniques concern I would like to say that you just visit our website from my profile page, I sure you will get the best resources for app marketing.

I wish you luck - we launched a month ago
Hello SyntheticStudios,
We recently just did the same journey as you hoping to reach that elusive "Top New Free" monicker, to no avail... We actually were spending $40 a day on advertising between myself and my partner, which led us to about 120ish downloads a day (brutal)... We still don't have a magic formula but was able to secure a review from http://www.playandroid.com/... Which they will do for free just given you add their review link to your storefront on google play. Hitting the forums and paying it forward is also a good way to get some exposure, I just always use the signature below. Well it has been a little over a month now for us and we are at 4000 downloads, which is too bad because we have a fairly decent little game.
In the end we didn't achieve the top new free, but that is okay, just damn fun building games! I do wish you luck and I'll definitely check out your game and give you a review! =)

Do you know how much it will cost to reach the top new free?

Your game download is not bad. I spent $200 before on appbrain about max $35 per day. Total installed after campaign ended around 300+ new install only because I target more on US market. For me, I think it is not bad at all for new app because I saw the ranking for keywords jump from 400 to current 82. Ranking in some countries also better.
In the end, my app didn't get into Top Free section for the category. I am still wondering how to get into this section.

stormzm said:
Do you know how much it will cost to reach the top new free?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience is that to be in the top free in the Spanish market has to have around 2000 downloads/day for seven straight days, really hard...

How can I increase downloads

How can I increase downloads on my application without paid promotion? Here is the link https <Remove this space> ://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.random_messenger.android&hl=en

Alexhudson623 said:
Simply just try to offer good and quality apps for users or for website design service[/url] site owners. People do really appreciate good apps. I would like to share an example of the game app Candy crush which is doing just amazing and there are millions of users for this game app for now. And hundred and thousands of downloads have been made. People just love good apps. If you are making great then obviously you'll get liked by every one and the downloads will also increase which is a white hat technique.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? You are saying that just make your game and people will find it if it's good enough? Maybe that was true some years ago, but certainly nowadays it's completely wrong. Optimize your keywords to be shown in relevant searches is one of the keys (ASO), but unfortunately not the only one. Spread the word in alternative channels is also necessary... but it isn't enough neither. Actually, get users without spend tons of dollars in advertising is quite a challenge. I really would like to hear some advices from someone who have experience in this.
By the way, JeanPierreQC, your idea is quite good, but I'm afraid there's many apps which do exactly the same, anyway cool idea, it's a pity you need a lot of users to make it work.

With patience
Unless you get very lucky there is no any simple way to get users fast. The market places are very competitive. Market you apps in social media and internet forums, get all your friends and relatives download your apps. Make many apps that draw users to your other apps. Make so great app that somebody wants to become your partner and does the promotion for you. Simple things like the signature banner below this message can make the difference in the long term.

try to implement the ASO to trigger the app installs

Don't forget that download alone isn't enough. you need the users to be engaged. Having thousands of downloads will not give you higher ranking if everyone simply uninstall it immediately. So be aware from pay per install plan where the users has insensitive to perform the installation. At the end of the day, your app needs to be able to keep the customers with you.

ASO is imho a bit overrated. Having relevant keywords and a nice looking icon and screens, and stuff like that, is simply common sense to me. As long as you have that you have good enough ASO really. ASO isn't some secret trick to get thousands of daily downloads like some people seem to think. There are no secret tricks for that.
To get a lot of download you need to put in A LOT of work, and/or A LOT of money. And have a really good app of course.
Anyway, I good idea that has worked very well for me is localising. If you can't localise your entire app you can at least localise the app description. Adding a few more "big" languages for my app description have almost doubled my downloads, even though the app itself is in english only. It's also cheap as you can get translations for $5 each on fiverr. Sure you won't know how good they are for that little money, but it's basically no money spent and it's probably a lot better than google translate at the very least.

If you are sure that your app is engaging enough for users then try to put as many sharing options as possible within you app like fb,whatapp,twitter. this can boost your downloads.

digibligames said:
Anyway, I good idea that has worked very well for me is localising. If you can't localise your entire app you can at least localise the app description. Adding a few more "big" languages for my app description have almost doubled my downloads, even though the app itself is in english only. It's also cheap as you can get translations for $5 each on fiverr. Sure you won't know how good they are for that little money, but it's basically no money spent and it's probably a lot better than google translate at the very least.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Pretty interesting and good suggestion.
Could you please share some stats or further experiences about with v.s. without localising

Have you tried PR to push your app?
There's a blog post called "State of App Promotion" that you should check out. Can't post the link because I'm a new user, but just search for "DecisiveAds" on Twitter. It's pinned to the profile. Good luck!

AAP -Android App Promotion
Try AAP - Android App Promotion app on playstore as they provide free download exchange services where you download an app and your app gets downloaded in return .You can see the results in daily reports and take appropriate measure while doing so .

I checked the AAP - The idea is good, but the app has only 1 thousand installs, probably no more than 300 active, that means using this app I can drive maximum 300 installs - not serious promotion. Additionally, it is not clear, how google will consider this way of promotion - legitimate or not? So, taking a risk for few more installs worth?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Hi,
Insensitive install is quiet good for new app, because google don't care too much about uninstall for the first month of launch. Many big company also use insensitive install. But link building, website review, user review, how often user come back to you app is also really important.

dandev99 said:
Don't forget that download alone isn't enough. you need the users to be engaged. Having thousands of downloads will not give you higher ranking if everyone simply uninstall it immediately. So be aware from pay per install plan where the users has insensitive to perform the installation. At the end of the day, your app needs to be able to keep the customers with you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but this is so wrong...
Having thousands of VALID downloads will boost your rankings even if 900 of them uninstalled it a day later. I'm writing from experience and not guessing

website promotion
The ultimate goal of search engine promotion is to increase sales. The more people see the site in high positions in the issue, the more people it visits and theoretically can become your customers. In order for a seo to produce results, it is necessary that the site be properly optimized using tools for a technical audit of the site and its analysis on parameters such as links, content and others.

App Promotion for fellow Indie Developers using the 80/20 principle.

Hi Fellow Developers,
A little bit about myself. I am part of a group called 'New Rich' . The NR is a group of individuals who make just enough money to fulfill their dreams by doing things that excites them with their free time . Each NR is excited by different things and I find my excitement in teaching others what I have learnt and still learn from the group. I am currently working in India and I teach a lot of youngsters the way of the new rich and enable them to be financially free by blogging, App development E-Commerce and me and my fellow NR's do a lot of free knowledge sharing on this front . I see that a lot of developers develop brilliant apps but fail to get it in front of the market and the app gets lost in oblivion. I hope that I can give my two cents here and be able to help you in promoting your apps. This is my first post and I would not be able to post links here . But will update the post if it proves popular and once I have posted 10 comments.
Warning : Post would be long and will be updated from time to time so feel free to grab a cup of coffee.
The post is based on two principles.
80/20 Principle (Pareto's Law) : 80% of your downloads comes from 20% of the sources.
Pareto's law on income distribution can be applied to just about anything you want . The usually accepted assumption that all the work you do will yield equal result is false. For example : Most of the blogs will have that 10 or 20 posts out of a 100 which gets them more than 80% of the traffic. Only 20 % of what you study will be asked in your examinations. 80 % of your effort on preparation for the exam is useless. So what if you can know that 20 % of your promotion effort which is giving you more than 80 % of your downloads ? Then all you will need to do is spend more time on this 20 % and not waste time on the other 80 %.
Parkinson's Law : Work expands to fill the time available for its completion
After you know that 20% which is giving you the best results. Come up with the things you should do to maximize and DO IT NOW !!! Keep a deadline of 3 hours to complete all your promotion task and call it a day. Don't fall into the trap of reading a hundred posts on promotion and not doing even one . Dont get into the habit of 'paralysis by analysis'. Another suggestion would be not to read something to its entirety. Even this post. Read the part that you really need to do now and the rest when you are ready to execute .
You must be well aware by now that more than 80% of the apps in Playstore get majority of the downloads and consequently more than 80% of the revenue. I don't want to bombard you with stats bore you to death. This is also true with marketing and sales. 80% of your sales will come from 20 % of your sources. Here I want to distinguish between sales and marketing.
Marketing : Where you let a lot of people know about your app . Promotion, Ads, Guest Post are examples for marketing.
Sales : Where you convincing a person who reaches your play store link because of marketing to download your app. Beautiful app Icon, an HD YouTube video explaining your app, screenshots explaining your app features on each screen and not just a plain screenshot are examples of sales.
Our method for app promotion is simple. Find out which 20 % of the events or actions that you do gets you 80% of your success (80/20 Principle) and Do more of that 20 % to get you the best result in the least amount of time spent(Parkinsons Law).
Finding out which 20% of the things you do is getting you 80% of your result
One of the problems is finding out from where you are getting your downloads. So the idea is to measure from which source you are getting maximum downloads. This can be done in three ways.
Whenever you are posting your playstore url ALWAYS use an url shortner(search "Google url shortner" ) and use the short link to post about your apps in forums. This will allow you to track the sources from which you are getting your clicks from and this is very important.
You can now link your app to Google Analytics. This will allow you to track how your downloads are generated. Using this you will be able to better determine the percentage of your downloads which are generated through Organic(People searching for your app or keyword in your app description through Google Search and Play Store) and InOrganic(People clicking on some link you have posted elsewhere and reaching your app) . Google on how you can add your app to google analytics page and its easy.
Another effective method to know if your app was mentioned on any blogs or news is very important to keep track of your app.
Enter your app name in quotes in Google Search(Ex : "FallToid app") and click on "google news" . At the very end of the search list you will have an option to called "Create an Alert" . Set that up once and whenever your app is mentioned on any news or blog you automatically get alerted about it by Google.
If you do the above , you can be rest assured that you are tracking almost all the sources of your downloads. Also I have noted that many people don't trust short-links so it would be better if you add something like (shortened link to play-store) to let people know that it is a play-store link.
Next up, Posting links to your app . I have a list of forums and websites on which I have had success promoting my client's apps and I will post those when I am able to do so. But basically there are two kinds of apps .
Promotion based apps : These are the apps which people don't want currently or don't know it exists but will download them when they come across it. These apps will not get much organic downloads. But can go viral based on the downloads they get. Examples for these apps are most of the games and some of the apps. User sees the link or reads about the app from some website or forum and downloads the app. These apps need more promotion channels including Social network sites.
Need based apps : These are the apps that user goes looking for. Examples of these are popular games like Chess, Crosswords, Scrabble etc or some root apps such as SuperUser, or sim unlock app like SuperSimUnlocker are examples of such apps. These apps will get organic downloads but will need some promotion and acceptance initially.
This post will talk about promotion based apps.
I love forums like XDA for promoting my apps for one main reason . You don't need permission to create a post(like this one) provided that you follow the rules and add some value to its readers. Forums are after all about user generated content and the more good content they get the better it is for them . Plus most of the forums are free. That is why I suggest you begin by writing a useful content for the users of the forums and add value first. I have also seen that many of us will just reply to a thread that talks about an app and spam it with your play store links . This is useless and does not work 80 % percent of the time . Spend most of your time here and it will be worth it .
Next up app review sites , If you can pay 100 bucks for a couple of review sites to review your app it will do wonders to your promotion . Don't look at this as an expense but as an investment. If you have faith in your app then go ahead and spend it . At worst you will at-least know what does not work .
Play store is not the only app market for you you know , Play-store has the highest number of users but also stiff competition . Place your app on all the alternative stores that you can find and this will get you more downloads. The main goal is to get your app in many places as possible and who knows if an influential blogger likes your app then he may spread the word around.
You have already heard it many times that your app needs to have a social presence. But Google+, You Tube is much more important than Facebook and Twitter simply because these are Google Products. Integrating Google + in your app as well as an HD video on YouTube will make Google like you very much . Also if your app is doing very well including GoogleAdMob will get you much much more promotion than using any other Ads platform simply because this is a Google product and it is in the best interest of Google to take care of the app which earns them most.
Add your app in product hunt dot com . This will get you some eyeballs.
I know press release is important but I dont want to spend all my time on it . What I do is spend 50 bucks on pitchpedgion dot com and send my app to over 120 influential bloggers at a time and call it a day.
The last promotional effort that I do is I find the app which is similar to my app. For Ex : If I am doing a calculator app I find out the competitor app and lets say the name of the app is "Calcu" . Then I search for the app on Google along with the quotes. This will give me the list of websites that this app was mentioned in and get in touch with them and use this trail to promote my app in the same places.
I have also noted that many of us just spam comments this actually works for some time . As you can see comments are sorted as latest comment first. So this means that if you add a comment earlier and don't add your comment often then you will get to the bottom of the comments and will be a futile effort.
That is it . Now sit back and analyze from where you are getting maximum downloads and spend more time on it . Don't worry about the least 10 percent since it is not worth your time .
I will post part 2 of this post shortly.
Mods, Please consider this to be a sticky post and if I have broken any of the forum rules please send me a pm allowing me to correct myself. Happy Promoting.

Great read, looking forward for the next part!
It's true 20% of my apps have the +80% of total revenue! Do you think i should focus on promoting those 20% or the others?