In this fast-paced technological age, different trendy platforms constantly compete for our ever-decreasing attention spans. Twitter or Facebook might flesh out a particular video or picture for its users amusement, and Hulu and Netflix constantly find new ways to keep their viewers interested. While some platforms already have a formula for attention down pact, other entertainment entrepreneurs must test novel approaches to turn heads, and often, they are successful. In particular, a multitude of applications for both Apple and Android have overtaken the interwebs.
One such application is TikTok. While this platform doesn’t have any particular aim, its users have a lot of fun performing different “challenges.” The idea of TikTok is mostly to lip sync to popular songs and edit amusing video frames to move along with your tunes. Some users have gained fame and following from the app, meaning it has opened a means to social advancement in different subsets of society. This approach to grabbing consumer attention is more light-hearted than most: it’s about kicking back, having fun and not taking yourself too seriously.
Other applications that have made a mark in the market are more singular in their approach. Apps like Duolingo and Khan Academy take advantage of the human desire to communicate more efficiently and expand one’s knowledge. Duolingo teaches its users new languages through game-like system. You can gain gems for advancing and staying on track in your coursework; learners are more likely to dedicate their attention to something that creates the illusion of immediate reward. As for Khan Academy, this platform offers a plethora of tutorial-like courses on a variety of subject matter. Whether a student needs extra help in a class or a person who is no longer in school wants to educate themselves on a subject matter, Khan Academy gives video lectures and detailed examples that enable easy understanding of subject matter.
Applications even offer structure to everyday life. Appealing to people’s sense of health, MyFitnessPal is a great way to keeps tabs on nutrition and exercise, offering respective databases along with the ability to compare your daily progress to your friends’. Along a similar vein, Yummly gives its users the ability to filter recipes through dietary, allergy and taste preferences. Whether users are trying to lose weight, go vegan or improve their cooking skills, this app offers ease in an otherwise mysterious culinary world.
Overall, it seems the applications that are successful are the ones that offer users instantaneous reinforcement and encourage day to day use. If an application is able to find a niche in everyday functioning, be it in stress relief, diet or education, its chance of success will skyrocket.
