Last weeks Inside Social Apps conference was a lively two-day argument about Facebook app monetisation, HTML5 adoption, and mobile gaming.
It also emphasised the ever-thinning line between social and mobile, as most acknowledged that Facebook and phone app strategies are now made hand-in-hand.
but if you didn't make it out to San Francisco, here are the five most telling statements from the event.
1. Apple killing off bots will now make ranking more accurate
like Android
"Android rankings factor in a lot of things: uninstall rates, user reviews, user engagement
and none of these things seem to matter on the iOS platform.
"Before, it seemed like the [Apple] focus was on ranking, but now, hopefully, we'll see more franchise development and long-term planning."
George Meredith, manager, Global Mobile Sales and Product Strategy, Google.
2. Kindle isnt really Android. Its becoming something else.
"We were up on the Amazon Appstore for Android, way before the Kindle Fire, and we took our goods down. The Android Market is manageable, but the Kindle, as we say in-house, is 'Android-like'."
"The question isn't just supporting the Kindles at launch, but the iterations that are bound to come over the years and having the staff and resources to support them. We decided no."
Charles Hudson, CEO and co-founder, Bionic Panda Games
3. Zynga is winning simply because it makes better games
"[Regarding copy cats], We're not in the business of making products that are not differentiated. If the games are free, there is no differentiation cost: they can play it, then stop playing it and download something else.
"At the end of the day, the player can decide. One of the keys is the ability to be social, and Zynga provides that."
Travis Boatman, senior vice president of Mobile, Zynga
4. Phones are eating dedicated game systems for lunch
"In 2010 and 2011, sales of mobile games on [Nintendo DS] and other systems went down 50 percent. Thats not a drop; thats a virtual destruction."
Eric Goldberg, MD, Crossover Technologies
5. Mobile apps are taking precedence over web
"Now when we think about consumer services, there's no distinction between mobile and internet.
"We assume a company coming in has a strategy that goes across the board. Its really interesting. Over the last 12 months, it's much more common for folks to launch with an app first."
Scott Raney, partner, Redpoint Ventures
Feature
Damon Brown has been speaking the mobile game gospel since 2003 for Playboy, New York Post, and many other outlets. Damon writes books
when he isn't busy gaming or Twittering. His most popular book is Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture.
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