Two months ago we undertook the task of creating an application from concept to launch in a single week.  During the aptly named Get Creative Week, the team designed, implemented and launched Flat Out, an application allowing University of Bath students to search for rooms and properties on Facebook.

The app hasn’t had any attention from us since then, so how is it doing and is anyone actually using it?

According to the statistics there are currently 47 active users which was as high as 65 at the beginning of the month.  An active user is someone who has used the app in the last 30 days, so the 65 covers the beginning of term in September.    Whilst this isn’t a huge number, it does show it is being used especially given that the app got no promotion, other than a link on the University’s online notice board.

Can we just release an application and then move on to something else or do we need to support, maintain and promote it?  I think it depends on the nature of the application and how worried we are about whether people are using it or not.   The purpose of Get Creative Week was to investigate the creative process, so the use of the application wasn’t as important.  Although it is still nice to see that people are using it.

It is clear from the stats that new applications do get noticed by at least a few people but how many does it take before it becomes the popular, “must use” application we would like all our creations to be.   Obviously, the more fun and useful it is the more likely people are to use it, and some people will seek out new things to help make their life / job easier.  However, I think, as with any large community, to get everyone using it requires a lot more effort.

There are many different types of people each requiring a different approach to help them understand that your application is the one they need.

I think it would be nice to think an application would become popular on its own and we could just sit back and watch, but in reality it isn’t that simple.