
Ask HN: Is it better to be collaborative or secretive when releasing an app? - danreed07
Hey guys,<p>I&#x27;ve been working on an app, and I&#x27;m about two weeks from it ready to demo. I&#x27;ve always been confused about launch... Apple seems to favor keeping things a secret and building up to a big reveal, while the other camps touts release early and release often.<p>Should I be releasing a demo teaser or should I wait and do it all in one lump-sum? What is the criteria for deciding this?
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brudgers
A few remarks:

0\. Odds are that your business is not Apple. Odds are that your business
interests are at least somewhat adversarial to Apple's because Apple wants
some of your businesses money.

1\. My typical reference article is: [https://blog.ycombinator.com/minimum-
viable-product-process/](https://blog.ycombinator.com/minimum-viable-product-
process/)

2\. My standard suggestion is to _consider_ building a webapp before an app
store app because it allows showing the app to users without going through the
approval process; and if the app is successful, a website will be needed to
support it; and a webapp can be iterated in a matter of minutes versus weeks
or months or never for app store approval.

Good luck.

~~~
danreed07
A good read. Thanks for the link. I don't think I'm able to build a webapp
version because the technologies & form-factor for this app is exclusive to
smartphones.

~~~
brudgers
What about the problem? Can it be partially solved without a smartphone? Can
it be partially solved by a smartphone using its browser? What smartphone
systems actually solve the problem versus providing a basis for additional
features?

For example, geolocation makes it easier to review a restaurant, but it is not
necessary in order to do so. Access to the user's contacts makes it easier to
send people messages, but it is not strictly necessary because typing the
information in is an option.

Another way of looking at it is the difference between solving a problem
(possibly using a smartphone) and writing an app. Writing an app has a lot of
tail wagging the dog...getting through the review process is just part of it.
The second part is getting people to notice the app...all apps on the app
store are presented in a standardized format. That's great for Apple and
Google. It's great for lousy apps because they look pretty much like good
apps. It is terrible for any good app with a story to tell, because there is
no way to tell that story.

------
dotmanish
Do you have an audience who is at least aware of the app's problem space, or
is it just you who knows about that app?

~~~
danreed07
It's one of those latent needs, in the way that Snapchat and Facebook doesn't
really solve a problem going in (Not that I'm comparing my app to theirs, they
just most easily come to mind). I've shown it to a few people in my circle,
and they think it's kind of cool.

