Apple Has Helped Create 466,000 U.S. Jobs Since 2008
Apple recently announced that it has payed over $4 billion to third-party developers since the launch of the App Store on July 10, 2008. Apps are an essential part of the modern smartphone, and Apple continues to pave the way with the growing success of the App Store year after year.
Sparked by Apple’s initiative, 466,000 U.S jobs have been created through what is now called the “App Economy.” Jobs include those that now develop for other platforms, like Android and Windows Phone.
“I lined up 20 babies between the ages of 14 and 20 months. I then handed each one a BlackBerry. No sooner had their soft chubby fists reached out to take the phone from me than they touched the screen expecting it to light up. When nothing happened, a few stuck it in their mouths whilst others moved on to something more interesting.
These babies, all under two years old, have already been converted to the Apple brand.
It does not stop with phones. If you place a toddler in front of a TV screen, chances are they will run their little fingers over the screen expecting the channel to change. Some are even more advanced, moving their fingers in such a way as to expand the screen to explore the finer details.”
Steve Jobs called OS X “lickable” back in 2000. Now I see why.
We're Addicted to Social Media
“In 2010, students at the University of Maryland were asked to give up all media for 24 hours. This included access to social networks and ‘i’ devices. Among the conclusions of the study by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) was that many of the 200 students studied showed signs associated with drug and alcohol addiction. These included withdrawal, craving and anxiety. One student reported:
Although I started the day feeling good, I noticed my mood started to change around noon. I started to feel isolated and lonely. I received several phone calls that I could not answer. By 2pm I began to feel the urgent need to check my email, and even thought of million ideas of why I had to. I felt like a person on a deserted island…. I noticed physically, that I began to fidget, as if I was addicted to my iPod and other media devices, and maybe I am.”
People Read the Web in an "F" Shaped Pattern
“According to a study by Jakob Nielsen, when we read a page, our eye automatically traces the text in an F-shape. The first paragraph is the one read in its entirety, as we trace the first long line of the ‘F.’ The next paragraph doesn’t fare as well, getting only half that much attention as we track about mid-way through the paragraph, tracing the second short line of the ‘F.’ The last step is simply to skim down the rest of the article, vertically.
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According to Nielsen, the F stands for Fast, and anything important you have to say, get it said in the first two paragraphs, since the rest of the post will be skimmed at best.”
As someone who makes his living online, I totally agree with this study. Not only do I see this pattern in the people around me, but I view the web this way, too. I read/skim hundreds of web pages throughout a typical week, and I read in a general “F” pattern almost every time.
