The Idea Dude

CONNECTING THE DOTS ONE AT A TIME

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

The gods smile upon us

About an hour ago, I was doing payroll, a very depressing activity given that we're bootstrapped (aka survival) mode. I'm very proud of our team, the sacrifices they've made in time and money. But worrying about our financial future is a perpetual state of mind. I deeply feel my responsibility as CEO to provide for our team and our families. Even the bravest and strongest have doubts in moments of battle.

15 minutes ago, I took a casual look at the iTunes Appstore. Our app Carddit made it to the New and Noteworthy section in social networking. We're featured in #2 spot. For many this may seem unimportant but for every app developer out (the many tens of thousands) to be listed in New and Noteworthy or Featured App area of iTunes is a holy grail.

I often wondered whether we took too long to develop Carddit. There's the quick and dirty approach of throwing a dozen apps and see what sticks. As a consultant, that's what I would have probably recommended. Instead, Carddit took the team 6 months to build. We fussed over every interaction, every screen. Debated every feature. We often joked, that this wasn't version 1.0 it was more like 4.0. And maybe, just maybe, someone saw the love and attention that went into the app and gave us back some of that love. We are truly, truly humbled and grateful to be recognized.

I think I know why. On Saturday I spent the day with the family at the botanical gardens. My daughter had her digital SLR and I had an iPhone. As we walked around, I decided to drink my own kool-aid and started to take a couple of pictures and make 1 or 2 cards. I ended up making over 20, totally voluntary. I shared my cards on Facebook, more activity in my account in one afternoon than in the last 6 months! I got lost in the moment. Today we heard that same comment from someone else. "I lost track of time playing with your app". I think we definitely did one or two things right.

Carddit isn't perfect, yet. Version 1.1 is already in testing with some added features and minor bug fixes. We've already have plans for 2.0. I hope the world sees why Carddit embodies everything we believe in about play.

Carddit is simply about favorites, our photos, our memes, our memories kept in a familiar paradigm, decks of cards. Allowing us to curate, collect and share. Tony, my wise friend once said, the true success of an app not whether we get a million downloads (that is for the world to decide), but whether we want to use it ourselves everyday. I do.