I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. In fact I was going to mention in this morning’s post that Apple’s just asking for the FTC to come take a look. They have taken the stick out of Flurry’s hands and are now swinging it at the beehive that is the U.S. Federal Government.

While Flurry definitely made a serious error by pissing off Steve Jobs, Apple doesn’t want to go and do the same with the bigger kids on the block.

Federal antitrust regulators reportedly plan to investigate whether Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) fledgling iAd mobile advertising network unfairly restricts rivals like Google from extending their own mobile marketing efforts across the iPhone platform. Citing sources familiar with the probe, The Financial Times reports the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice are presently in talks to determine which unit will spearhead an investigation into Apple’s mobile ad initiatives in the wake of the computing giant’s decision to rewrite its iPhone Developer Program License Agreement to effectively block third-party analytics firms from collecting iPhone application user or device data to improve ad targeting.

Apple has now pissed of AdMob, which we all know is now owned by Google, a much bigger, and badder,  boy on the block. And as a business, the only one scarier than the FTC, is the IRS!

The developer license update is widely perceived as an attempt to stymie mobile advertising network AdMob, acquired by Apple’s archrival Google for $750 million following an FTC antitrust investigation into the deal. "This change threatens to decrease–or even eliminate–revenue that helps to support tens of thousands of developers," wrote AdMob founder Omar Hamoui on the firm’s blog Wednesday. "The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money.  And because advertising funds a huge number of free and low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well." Hamoui added AdMob plans to speak to Apple "to express our concerns about the impact of these terms."

So bring it on. Us little guys will let the big guys fight it out and see who is left standing.  Since the release of the iPhone, Apple has been pushing the “antitrust” envelope. Everywhere from the proprietary iTunes store, to the AT&T only network, to the ban on analytics, Apple has been seeing how far they can take it.

So, “Let’s get ready to rumble……”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Great blog post on Moco News by Tricia Duryee –

How A Company Recovers After Pissing Off Steve Jobs

We found out today how a company regains its composure after infuriating Apple’s Steve Jobs: Concede as quickly as possible.

That’s what Flurry is doing after its high-profile stunt earlier this year led to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) changing the terms of its iPhone developer agreement and prompted Jobs to blame Flurry during his appearance at the D8 conference on Tuesday.

Ok, so they admit they were wrong and are making some changes.

Flurry said that well before the D8 conference, it was working on complying with the issues raised, and has since been taking steps to address them with the help of its 30,000 customers. Specifically in regards to “device data,” Flurry said it is updating their service to be in compliance and will no longer collect the data. All-in-all, it’s trying to fall in line as quickly as possible. “Regarding sharing some specific aggregated usage statistics, to which Apple is opposed, we will comply with their wishes. Our goal continues to be to add value to the developer ecosystem and be a strong partner to platform providers,” Farago said.

That’s all nice and wonderful, but does it really change much? Steve Jobs made it clear (but is it clear?):

His exact words are: “The use of third party software in Your Application to collect and send Device Data to a third party for processing or analysis is expressly prohibited.”

Flurry also says it will not share device data. But is this enough? Will Apple change it’s policy “BANNING THIRD PARTY ANALYTICS”? I guess we will have to see when the next developer license agreement is drafted.

So I have 2 questions.

1. How will Flurry make money?? Raising capital is not the same as generating income. I had assumed all along they were selling the aggregate data and generating some income from that.
2. Will apple let developers track device info themselves? I assume so. Developers need to know so they can tailor the apps and their capabilities depending on which device it is running on. I assume this will be even more true as the next gen is released.

So for now we will leave the device reporting in AppClix since we are not considered a third party if we do not host the analytics app or the data. As always, the developer is responsible for complying with their aggreement with Apple. If the agreement changes, we will release an update that complies.

Oh and I love this graphic on Flurry’s home page. It’s part of their “Privacy First” initiative. I’ll leave that one alone.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I’ve been saying it all along. If Flurry would have just kept their mouths shut, all would be fine. I knew that opening their mouths about the iPad was what pissed off Apple. What kind of idiot grabs a baseball and starts swinging it at hornets nest??

“We’re seeing  about 50 iPads and they are all coming from Cupertino, CA… Blah.. Blah.. Blah…” –

Jeez, what were they thinking letting Apple and everyone know publicly that they are combing other app developers data and that Apple is testing iPhone apps on iPads.

Blame Flurry, Jobs said at D8 on Tuesday night. That’s the analytics company that sent Apple (AAPL) “through the roof” when its software helped it peer into Apple’s iPad testing operations in January. So now, Jobs says, he’s cutting out Flurry and everyone who wants to track his customers’ gadgets by transmitting device-specific information. (Jobs was responding, by the way, to a question from First Round Capital’s Chris Fralic, a Flurry investor. Ouch.)

Take a look at the speech: http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100601/d8-video-steve-jobs-explains-his-iads-restrictions-and-blames-flurry/

Well here we are, and now that Pinch and Flurry are one company, they are both screwed!

So here’s my question. Can developers built their own analytics? Can developers track how their apps are used?

Of course they can!

While Apple can easily block the ability to identify what kind of phone it is, they can’t, nor do they want to, block tracking how the apps are used.

While Apple can block third party analytics providers from sticking their nose in app developers data, they can’t, nor do they want, to block app developers from understanding who their users are.

Is it really that big of a deal if we don’t know what type of phone it is, or what version they are on? That’s what Apple is concerned about. That and developers / providers opening their BIG FAT MOUTHS and sharing information.

As we all know, Apple’s always had a non-disclosure with their beta software, etc… and it’s always been honored by developers.

So what’s the answer??

is the answer!

While I continue to be pissed at Flurry, I plan to write them a public thank you letter next. By pissing off Apple, they have opened the market and forced developers to install their own Analytics, Reporting and App Tracking!

And we have it!

We have created stand-alone versions of the AppClix software. It comes in 3 versions from single server personal to multi-server enterprise.

Simply install AppClix on your own server (or rent a turn-key one from us) and go! Connect your apps. You have control and only you have access, and your data is not being mined or looked at by third party reporting companies.

And here’s the kicker! We are developing interfaces so you don’t have to change ANY code in your applications. Simple replace the Flurry, PinchMedia, Localytics (and others coming soon) library with one single line of code and you are GOOD TO GO! You can be up and changed over in days.

And you can even IMPORT your existing data using the PinchMedia API or Flurry & Localytics exports.

So bring it on! Our AppClix free trial will be ready next week and we plan to work over the weekend to get the finishing touched on the installed.

Come and Get It!!!

Visit our site for more info and pricing. We will be offering a migration special shortly.

�

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

What’s going on over there?

This morning I went to check the stats of some of our apps, and found that Flurry’s reporting appears to be down. First I got an error from their load balancer, and now it just says “Loading…”

As a competitor, this makes me smile, but as a customer I would start getting extremely concerned.

The Flurry, Pinch Media transition does not appear to be going well at all. While Pinch has had the bulk of the issues, it appears the Flurry platform is suffering as well.

When I went over to Pinch Media’s reporting to check on a few apps we have with them, I found that they are now 8 days behind in aggregating our data.

Why are we not hearing more about this? If Flurry and Pinch are the biggest players in this arena, then why is there not more public outrage from customers? Are they providing service to the big guys, and letting the smaller ones suffer?

One of the things we have been working on is giving existing Pinch Media users the ability to pull the data from their API into AppClix. This would allow them to continue using Pinch to collect the data, while reporting it with combined sales data from AppClix.

But what’s the point if the data is 8 days old? While it’s one thing to have a confusing reporting interface, it’s a whole other issue when the data is stale. They recently said they expected to catch up over the weekend of April 9th, but it looks like it didn’t happen.

We’d love to hear from some Flurry and Pinch Media customers about their current experiences. Is it worth it for us to continue the API integration? We are trying to find a way to provide an alternate, more comprehensive interface to Flurry and Pinch users, but at this point they are better off moving the whole data collection over to us as well.

Since we don’t plan to sell aggregate data, it makes no difference to us if users stay with “the big boys”, and use us to combine analytics with sales data. In fact we prefer it. Let them deal with the traffic and aggregation.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

It is definitely interesting timing that Apple’s change of their developer agreement banning some app analytics, comes as we announce the beta release of the AppClix Enterprise Server.

One of the things that makes many developers uncomfortable is compiling dependencies into their apps that they have no control over. Many also don’t want their data aggregated and shared with the world. On top of that, they want control of their infrastructure, and to be responsible for any downtime that might occur.

With that in mind, we created a version of AppClix that can be installed by the developer on their own servers. Our Enterprise platform consists of a small network of servers that interact with each other to create a full analytics collection and reporting solution.

We also offer “CloudClix” which is a dedicated solution hosted on the Amazon EC2 virtual cloud. There will be a more detailed post on this shortly.

With the recent changes in Apples Developer Agreement, we are going to put together a small single server solution as well to accommodate smaller developers who do not need the full scalability of the Enterprise version.

We are also creating a 14 day free trial license. If you are interested, please contact us.

Here are a few reasons (from our web site) why a number of developers are looking for their own solution:

No Third-Party dependency compiled into Your Application

I don’t know about you, but I got a little uncomfortable when I submitted an app with a library to a third-party service that may not be around tomorrow compiled into it.

Does anyone remember AppLoop?

For those of you who don’t know, AppLoop was one of the first analytics platforms and they closed their doors. Imagine compiling code into your applications for a service that no longer exists!

Now, we don’t plan on going out of business, but it is nice to have that piece of mind knowing that you won’t need to issue updates for all your applications if we did.

You are in control.

You never have to worry about not being in control of your hardware and network. Possible unforeseen downtime of the AppClix hosted platform would have no affect on your services.

Your data resides in your own dedicated database and is not subject to our aggregation and public summary reporting that we might offer as a product or service. Your data is owned and controlled by you and only you.

You have complete control over your traffic and aggregation. You choose how often to summarize the data, and how to configure the AppClix service.

Unlimited Scalability

You can scale your network at any time to meet your needs. If your traffic grows to the point where you need more power, you can simply purchase an additional “collection server” license for a small fee.

Private Label Dashboard

The user dashboard can be branded as you see fit. Your logo and graphics can be used to match your company’s look and feel.

While you can’t start an application analytics company, you can provide AppClix services to your customers as a value added service. Create logins and accounts just as we do, within your AppClix platform.

Personal API Access

Create your own front-end or integrate AppClix into your existing applications or customer dashboards.

You have complete access to the AppClix API. The same API we use to provide data to our Dashboard.

No Ongoing Monthly Costs

You are not incurring monthly costs. You own the license and can use it for as long as possible for a single license fee!

Updates and Upgrades

Minor updates and upgrades are included for the first year, and available for a small annual support fee after that. Take advantage of new features as we release them.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Well I have good news and bad news.

The potential bad news is Apple is apparently looking to dictate the way application developers can track the usage of the applications.

Apparently Apple’s latest developer agreement includes this clause:

Device Data may not be provided or disclosed to a third party without Apple’s prior written consent. Accordingly, the use of third party software in Your Application to collect and send Device Data to a third party for processing or analysis is expressly prohibited.

We’re not sure where this came from, but clearly Flurry is starting to make too much noise. Their constant blog posts reporting on device usage to the public might be rubbing Apple the wrong way.

Maybe this one:

http://blog.flurry.com/bid/30019/Apple-Tablet-The-Second-Stage-Media-Booster-Rocket

or this one:

http://blog.flurry.com/bid/31410/Day-74-Sales-Apple-iPhone-vs-Google-Nexus-One-vs-Motorola-Droid

What seems unclear to me is what Apple means by “third party” software “in Your Application”

First of all, the software that is installed in the app for using AppClix is just a small class file that is not even compiled as a third party library. Does that include us?

Also, is their only issue the collection of “device data”? What is”device data”? Screen size? Memory? Handset ID? They need to clarify this.

Now for the good news.

If Apple does indeed ban application developers from using “third party” software, then the AppClix Application Analytics Software License  platform will not be affected. We are uniquely positioned in that we are the only analytics product that can be installed on the application developer’s own server. I will assume that if I own the software, it is not considered “third party”.

We will immediately create a “lite” version of the platform that can be installed on a single server for smaller developers concerned about this provision. Our current version is for larger developers and consists of multiple servers. Contact us if you are interested in being notified when the single server version is available.

We anxiously await Apple’s clarification of this new position to determine  how it affects AppClix.

Stay Tuned….

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Over and over again I read posts and hear from developers who need access to iTunes data through an API.

Of all the websites and products Apple has released, The iTunes Connect portal is probably the worst of the worst. From look, to navigation, to functionality, it does not represent what we know Apple to be.

Developers need access to data. Not only does this include iTunes Connect sales reports, but ALL iTunes data.

We need access to:

• Product Details
• Reviews
• Ratings
• Rankings
• Sales Reports

And not just for iPhone and iPad apps. Content providers need this information for everything including Music and Videos.

Well, here it is. We built it!

We needed this information for our mobile application analytics product AppClix, so we made it a public iTunes Web Service API that developers can use. We also wrapped Apple’s JSON affiliate API into XML for those that need it.

Now with a simple API call, you can get today’s sales data. You can easily see your ratings in every country. Easily access information about developers, applications, content ratings and more.

We are currently in Beta and are looking for users. While some of this API will be free, other method calls will be fee based.

Here are some Available REST Methods we offer:

getProductDetails

• All iTunes data fields including links to small and large icon.
• Current ratings
• Number of reviews

getProductRankings
Returns top rankings for application

getProductReviews
Returns review data including user, rating, version and details

getProductRatings
Returns rating for current version, and overall, by country

getStoresByCountry
Returns the iTunes store country codes to be used in other calls

getDailySalesReport
Returns the iTunes Connect sales report for an account for a specific date range. Optionally filter by specific application id and other parameters.
Optionally specify currency code to return revenue figures in consistent single currency.

getWeeklySalesReport
Returns same as daily report, but aggregated weekly.

searchProducts
Searches for products and returns the same data as the getProductDetails call for each result.

getSellerDetails
Returns info for specific developer or publisher. Optionally includes ids of all products, or full product details.

getProductsBySeller
Returns all products for a single seller

getRelatedProducts
Returns the products that iTunes considers related. Could be from other sellers.

getCurrencyExchangeRates
Returns a simple list of exchange rates based on 1 US dollar. Currency codes match up with Sales reporting codes.

getMediaTypes
Returns a list of the iTunes Store Media Types to be used in searches

getEntityTypes
Returns a list of the iTunes Store Entity Types to be used in searches

Visit http://www.itunesapis.com for more information or to sign up for our beta.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Like many others who immediately pre-ordered the iPad, I got this email from Apple on Tuesday.

Before that email, I had seen some chatter on the Internet about the iPad being delayed until April 12th. I shrugged it off as expected, and moved on. I then got my shipping confirmation from Apple and was pleasantly confused.

Apparently I had not read the whole post about the delayed iPads and it only applies to pre-orders after a certain date. This delay being for over-demand, rather than it not being ready.

When new products and services are announced in this “new tech world” we live in, we almost expect that it will not be ready when promised. Well I am not surprised that Apple, as usual, has distanced themselves from the pack by actually shipping when they said they would. Or did they?

Of course, I checked the tracking number immediately and it hadn’t actually left Apple’s warehouse. Unfortunately a quick look at the UPS site this morning still shows it as “Billing Information Received” which essentially means that Apple created a label but has not actually shipped it.

Also, one thing I am definitely curious about is why they announced that they would be delivered on April 3rd, which is a Saturday. Saturday UPS delivery is not exactly reliable. Could they have done that on purpose? What’s behind this?

Well, let’s see if they keep to their promise and actually put it into our hands on a day when we can relax, play with it, and have an excuse to ignore the kids (who will be all over us to check this thing out anyway).

I’m looking forward to seeing the iPads show up in the AppClix analytics data. We’ve only been able to test with the simulator of course, and hopefully it will work as expected.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Well it looks like Apple really will be releasing the iPad on April 3rd. As many of you already know, they announced through a mass email that they will be accepting iPad app submissions to be included in the “Grand Opening” of the iPad App Store.

In order to be eligible, the app must be built with the latest Beta version, SDK 3.2 beta 5. Apps must also be uploaded to iTunes Connect by March 27 @ 5pm PST.

Apple will then review the app on a real iPad we assume, and let you know if it is ready. I’m sure they will allow some back and forth over the following week to let developers fix issues that could not be seen in the simulator.

While it will be exciting to have the App Store live when the iPad ships, many of us wanted them to hold off for a short while so we could test on the real thing. Looks like that’s not happening.

At least 99% of us are in the same position. We all have to assume the simulator is fairly accurate and see what happens. The other 1% have access to real iPads under some crazy restrictions.

Would-be testers of the tablet-style computer, due to be released Apr. 3, must promise to keep it isolated in a room with blacked-out windows, according to four people familiar with the more than 10-page pact that bars partners from disclosing information about the iPad.

To ensure that it can’t be removed, the iPad must also remain tethered to a fixed object, said the people, who asked not to be named because their plans for the iPad have not been made public. Apple (AAPL) won’t send out an iPad until potential partners send photographic evidence that they’ve complied.

So we’re scrambling to finish the first app being developed by my other software company, Millennium Studios, to take advantage of the grand opening. Should be real interesting…

At the same time, we want to get an app in the store so we can quickly begin collecting data for AppClix. We added some iPad specific features, and hopefully they will work as well on the real thing as they do in the simulator.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Many of us who have started web based service businesses in the last 4 or 5 years have modeled themselves from the company 37 Signals. They are an excellent example of a successful web business that bootstrapped their way to success.

For those of you that don’t know them, they are an extremely small company that has millions in revenue from a few excellent web based products. Take a look at Basecamp and Highrise. We use them both.

When I first built Mobivity, our Mobile Marketing and SMS platform, I had to keep asking myself “what would the guys at 37 Signals do?” Repeating that line over and over played a large role in or success.

They have recently release their second book. The first one was a free online one called Getting Real.

I’ve already been through a bit of their new one called Rework, and I am very impressed. Not only with their book, but also with the fact that we already do much of what they are talking about. It validates our strategy and makes me even more confident we are on the right track.

One of my favorite excerpts is the one about “picking a fight” with the competition.

If you think a competitor sucks, say so. When you do
that, you’ll find that others who agree with you will rally
to your side. Being the anti- ______ is a great way to differentiate
yourself and attract followers.

For example, Dunkin’ Donuts likes to position itself
as the anti- Starbucks. Its ads mock Starbucks for
using “Fritalian” terms instead of small, medium, and
large. Another Dunkin’ campaign is centered on a taste
test in which it beat Starbucks. There’s even a site
called DunkinBeatStarbucks.com where visitors can
send e- cards with statements like “Friends don’t let
friends drink Starbucks.”

This is something I have always thought was a great strategy (as you can see from this previous post…). When you have a better product, then let the world know! When the competition screws up (like Pinch Media’s 10 day data refresh lag time), let the world know!

I am about to do just such a post on the Mobivity Blog about Clickatell who just got shut down by every U.S. carrier and have sent their customers calling us in droves. We MUST take this opportunity to let the industry know what makes us different, and why these things would never happen to us.

If any of our readers have their own business, or plan to start one, then this book is a must read. Visit the Rework site and read the free preview they have available.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites