Social Boobworking? Or “Why Apple needs to be stricter about App Store categories”
I have nothing against boobs, but they don't belong in the Social Networking category on the App Store.
It appears that boobs are the hottest new thing in social networking. At least if you take the Social Networking category on iTunes as a reference.
As of Monday morning, February 15th, there were six Boob Apps in the list of the top 25 apps by release date on the UK App Store: Awesome Top Doll, Awesome Top Friend, Attractive Sweet Mate, Attractive Sweet Queen (who comes up with these names?), Awesome Sizzling Girlfriend, and Awesome Sizzling Teen all by a publisher called Hotix Studios. The other non-social-networking-related app in the list was the refreshingly boob-free BathroomFan (plays a fan sound so people don't hear you poopin').
Why it gets on my tits
Why is this such a bad thing? Because it's spam. Plain and simple.
It means, for example, that my new iPhone app, Feathers – which actually belongs in the Social Networking category – is now third from last on the recently-released apps list and will soon fall off it. The Boob Apps are effectively spamming the list and stopping users from finding genuine newly-released social networking apps.
How to get this off our chests
Apple has to do something about this if it doesn't want every category in the App Store to become the Boob Category. Or, if Apple won't enforce any controls on categories, why not scrap them altogether? They are almost meaningless as it is at the moment.
The solution to the boob spam issue is simple: create a separate category for adult apps and reject apps that blatantly place themselves in the wrong category in an effort to spam the category system.
The Social Boobworking? Or “Why Apple needs to be stricter about App Store categories” article by Aral Balkan, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK: England License.
What do you have against boobs then ?
Totally agree Aral. If only there was a way to really make yourself heard by Apple.
Their stance on using social media for support is tarnishing the experience for me a little. Their in-store “geeks” can’t do anything, and the powers in the towers seem just slightly too aloof.
A carefully developed social presence – where they actually respond to criticism and feedback – would go along in improving Apple’s reputation in this regard and only serve to enhance their brand, surely!?
Does anyone really waste their money on these rubbish apps?
Weird thing is – in the Norwegian app-store, there’s not a boob in sight. (Which is good!) I just wonder why.
I hear you, man. Me too, I’ve been annoyed by them lately. They seem to pop up anywhere in the app store. And not only does their appearance in the app store annoy me. It really brings down my App-store-experience. I don’t feel like I’m browsing through a decent list of apps, created by creative people. I have the unbearable feeling I’m browsing a 90′s website full of p*rn ads…
At good last: If you take a closer look at those apps: It’s just pictures. There’s nothing to it. How the hell does Apple dare to call this ‘quality control’? ‘Spam’ is really the only term to closely describe what it is.
Btw: That first picture (that also appeared on the index of your blog): Nice touch! Totally got my attention! ;)
Totally agree!