Download Our App for Android Smartphone Users!
We already provide a mobile AD website here, and growth in smartphone use has been such that we have seen a doubling of visitor numbers to that site over the past 12 months, but we think that people prefer the convenience of an installed application on their phones, so we built this app.
The app that we have been busy compiling this last few weeks (did you notice how quiet this blog has been?), has been built to compile a number of unrestricted-copyright social-networking sources for the users of the app. It uses a form of content curation which, if a sufficient number of users download and use the app, can be extended and enhanced.
The current app version has tabs for the following:
- Biogas News from Google's News service at www.news.google.com
- Our Facebook News Feed about anaerobic digestion
- A selection of the most Popular YouTube videos on the subject of anaerobic digestion and biogas
- Our Twitter Feed (@anaerobicnews) also on the subject of anaerobic digestion
- An Events Page which is not very useful currently (one of you has already commented on that. Thank you!) but which we have been trying to "localize" (not very successfully) , and which we hope to be able to improve in the near future
- An images tab (more of a gimmick than really useful?).
The general idea has been to pull together social networking technology to provide a truly useful app. To what extent that has been achieved I am not sure, so your feedback is very welcome.
The rate in which the use of smartphone apps is increasing is very rapid indeed. At present there don't appear to be any more than about half a dozen biogas apps available on the largest Android platform at Google Play, but my view is that this will change rapidly over the next few years as professionals begin to tap into this trend.
The more web savvy of you will no doubt also be aware that those that invite me to follow them on Twitter will be able to participate when their Tweets appear in this app, and anyone (business or individual) who wants me to follow them is welcome to contact me, and I will follow back all requests which show a biogas and AD related interest.
The same goes for those that post updates on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/anaerobicdigestion . If you know of other suitable Facebook and Twitter accounts/ pages updated regularly with relevant news which can be added to this app, let me know via the comment box below, or do message me on Facebook.
If any of you have RSS Feeds set-up already in your websites or blogs, relevant to the app and would like them also to be streamed into the app in future versions, let me know.
Due to the additional cost and complexity of producing an iPhone and iPad version of this app we have not produced an Apple iOS version, although we will do so if there is sufficient interest shown. If the investment can be found there would then be two parallel versions of the app developed and updated together. A small charge would potentially need to be made for the iOS app version.
There is a small amount of advertising within the app currently, and it is hoped that ad revenue will be sufficient for the app to remain free for the current app and for any iOS version. So far, add revenue has been disappointingly low...
We hope that a significant number of you share our enthusiasm for developing a really useful app for all to use in the anaerobic digestion and biogas industry, and try out this app.
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