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Android App Developers Poke Fun at North Korea

Posted by Eric Worrall on in Android App, iPhone App, Kickstarter, Mobile App 0 Comment
A newly developed Android App pokes fun at the North Korean dictator
A newly developed Android App pokes fun at the North Korean dictator

A new Android App developed by Subway Monkey lets users poke fun at North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

According to PR Newswire

While Sony Pictures may have famously balked at the idea, the fearless development team at Subway Monkey has no qualms about poking the bear that is North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. The company’s new mobile app, Kim Cam, gives users a co-star with the reclusive and notorious leader in their own mini-movies. Subway Monkey has also launched a Kickstarter campaign to further support the app’s development.

“What’s a great home movie or viral video without a compelling and recognizable star?” asked Bee Brown, Public Relations Manager at Subway Monkey. “Our new Kim Cam app lets enterprising young directors cast none other than Kim Jong-un in the lead role, doing all sorts of ridiculous things. We all know that Kim’s father was an avowed movie buff – it’s only fitting that his son follow in his footsteps, so to speak.”

Kim Cam is free and will launch first on Google Play. The app takes advantage of a smartphone’s built-in camera and enables users to insert short recordings of the North Korean leader into a video clip. The user’s imagination and sense of humor are the only practical limitations on what can be created with Kim Cam.

These apps might not seem a significant contribution to the world, but there are a few inescapable highlights of creating an app like this:

  1. The creators of satirical mobile apps sometimes make a lot of money – taking advantage of a hot issue is a powerful way to attract attention for your effort
  2. Satirical mobile apps are arguably a celebration of freedom of expression. They might seem silly or puerile, but I’m glad we live in a world where you can create such a mobile app without breaking the law
  3. Nobody is going to complain to you about the impact on their business or income, if your satire mobile app malfunctions.

Of course, in the case of a high profile target like Kim Jong-un, there is a risk your satirical app will attract the attention of cyber criminals, like the people who hacked Sony Pictures.

However, the world would be a poorer place, if everyone started censoring themselves because they were worried someone powerful might be offended by what they say. The famous comedian Charlie Chaplain refused to be intimidated by the risk of retribution from Adolf Hitler, when Chaplain made the satirical movie The Great Dictator, even though Hitler had agents and sympathisers who could conceivably have attacked Chaplain in retaliation for mocking their idol.

If you have an idea for a satirical mobile app, especially if the satire is relevant to current world events, and want to speak to an iPhone App Developer or Android App Developer about your idea, please Contact Me.

Why Developers don’t do Unfunded Joint Ventures

Posted by Eric Worrall on in Joint Venture, Kickstarter, Project Funding 0 Comment

Every so often a client with a great idea offers me a joint venture. And it often is a great idea – but unless they are funded (have already raised financial backing on the basis of their idea), I almost always say “no”.

The reason is the balance of risk and effort.

With an unfunded joint venture, everyone is committing to give their time and money to a project on an unpaid basis. But the timing of the effort is very different for say the developer compared to the marketing expert.

With an unfunded project, the developer has to commit their effort first – they have to develop the product, which the other team members are committed to market. For the developer, this represents a serious risk – they could sink hundreds, maybe thousands of hours of their own unfunded time into a product, just to see the other members of the team give up and walk at the first obstacle.

At least half, maybe more than half, of the effort of launching a successful product, is skilful marketing and promotion of the product.

Why is a funded venture different? The reason is, if a joint venture has funding at the time the partners approach a software developer, then either the marketing people have already done a great deal of work, promoting their idea, or, if the idea is funded out of their own pockets, other team members have committed the time and effort it took for them to earn the money they put up as funding.

And there is no reason why a project shouldn’t be funded. Fund raising has never been easier – for example, Kickstarter invites people to contribute funding for very little in return, other than seeing the idea come to fruition. Browse through the projects, and you will see the most unlikely ideas funded with large contributions – but who am I to judge?

If you have a great idea for a joint venture, I’m happy to discuss it – you can always contact me at eric@desirableapps.com. But please don’t be offended if my initial answer is no – because if you are willing to work with me, I will do my best to help you find a way to turn your idea into a product.