I thought I wasn't cut out to be a researcher until a project at work led me to this graph:
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| Rankings courtesy of AppAnnie.com; additional analytics are my own work |
Well that looked weird, I thought to myself. Downloads for the Monster.com app peak on Wednesdays and drop drastically on the weekends. And then I suddenly understood the "research bug." I need to know more about this trend. I need to know if app downloads correlate to anything else.
So whenever I have time, I'll be researching the link between job-searching apps and the economy over time. I might even look at how popular game apps fit into the picture. Who knows? It's a brand new world in so many ways: As TechNet put it, "there are now roughly 466'000 jobs in the 'App Economy' in the United States, up from zero in 2007." And while the world of research isn't new to me, the idea of loving it is.
Of course, I will be posting my results whenever I have them. Just keep in mind that I am transitioning from college student to A Real Adult, and I might not have a lot of time to dedicate to number crunching. I hope this post has gotten you as interested as I am!
I'm having trouble reading this colorful, parabolic (from the Greek word for "application") graph. If the far-left column is "Downloads," then the weekly peak would appear to be either Monday or Saturday. Or is the far-left column the "App Store Rank"? Whatever that is.
ReplyDeleteMy experience with research (I was in magazine marketing for many years) is that some is designed to get at the truth, or an approximation thereof, and some is designed to produce the desired result.
For example, you state that there are now roughly 466,000 jobs in the "App Economy," which leaves me questioning what is meant by a "job." Does an individual with a job in the App Economy support him/herself, receive benefits, look forward to owning his/her own home and to retirement at 65? Does the App Economy include the makers of the cell phones that the apps support (or is it the other way around—the phones supporting the apps)? Are some or most of those 466,000 jobs in China?
The question next, for me, is Who benefits from promoting the existence of nearly half a million jobs in the App Economy? (Note that "nearly half a million" sounds bigger than 466,000.) My guess is that the answer to that question is: TechNet! (And whoever else may have sponsored the research that came up with that number.)
I like research, too. Sometimes the research confirms what we already know and sometimes it surprises us by showing us something new. That can be very exciting.