The articles we read this week were very interesting and covered the topics of the usefulness of apps and the use of bitcoins. In “The Mobile Browser is Dead, Long Live the App” we learn that on smartphones people rarely use their browser. Instead opt to use apps that each have a specific purpose. This allows people to get to their favorite “websites” per say faster than having to search it up on a browser. App are a simplified way of using the internet for smartphones. They are developed with the idea of simplicity and efficiency so yes they are killing the mobile browser.
We then read an article from wired called “The Rise of Chat Apps” which as the title says discusses the increase in use of messaging apps. I found it very interesting to see that Livingston from Kik doesn’t even see facebook as a competition because facebook has already solidified itself in peoples minds. He basically explains that in order for a messaging app to win the messaging wars, it has to be constantly changing to keep users sticking around while still being simple. The beginning of the article discusses how facebook has actually lost the appeal of the youth and young adults, they don’t like sharing all their information with their family and even acquaintances that are on facebook. I didn’t even know that chat apps were that popular so it was a very interesting read.
In “The Fierce Battle for the Soul of Bitcoin” introduces us to the world of bitcoin which was an online currency that was “an anonymous, encrypted, government-free online version of money”. Sound amazing but at it’s beginnings a lot of drug dealers and crooks ran to it because it allowed them to do their transactions without government intervention nor did a lot of people at it’s start up really understand what bitcoin was. Currently though bitcoin is trying to change and allow the government to create a road map for how it should work so that way they can hopefully create this digital currency and keep the crooks and drug dealers out.
