As some of you know, I created my first iPhone app this past year called “Park Safe LA.” The response to the app was largely positive, but online comments on reviews are always a mixed bag. I find feedback falls into one of two passionate categories.
The first category is people that say the app is a great idea and that they are grateful someone created it. This category always makes me feel great that I took the time to teach myself Xcode and create “Park Safe LA.” Honestly, it’s also what keeps me wanting to improve it too.
The second category is those that call Park Safe LA, “An utterly useless app that only a complete moron would need.” Yes, that’s actually a direct quote from a comment under the LA Weekly article that ran. This line of thought believes all questions about parking signs in LA can be resolved by simply taking the time to read the signs. I find myself wanting to challenge these individuals to what I envision as a “sign-off.” This would amount to my version of a Wild West shootout, but instead of guns and dusty streets, we’d challenge each other to understand a variety of different LA parking signs.
I actually agree with the people in the second category to a certain extent. I largely believe this second category is made up of those that either lived in LA for a long time or largely visit the same parts of town every day. If you see the same signs every day like those around your apartment and work, you should probably get the hang of them pretty quickly, but if you are like me and find yourself in Culver City in the morning, Venice the afternoon, NoHo the late afternoon, Sherman Oaks in the evening, and downtown at night, it can get confusing. Each part of town has their own distinct signs with subtle differences.
The final group of people is those that appear to dig the app and want me to create an Android version. I appreciate this group, but sometimes find their method of communicating their desire for an Android version a little less than desirable. I’ve had people literally threaten to harm me because I initially only created an iPhone version. This seems a bit extreme guys.
To those that request this politely I am grateful for their input and want to make it happen, to those that call me an iPhone-centric asshole for not making an android version yet, I think they are confused how many hours this has taken and how little money it has garnered. This is absolutely a project bore out of my desire to create something that helps people and has very little to do with recouping money for the time I’ve put into it.
From a first time app developer’s point of view, it is incredibly encouraging that people have such passionate feedback about my app, although the death threats are a bit much guys.
The first category is people that say the app is a great idea and that they are grateful someone created it. This category always makes me feel great that I took the time to teach myself Xcode and create “Park Safe LA.” Honestly, it’s also what keeps me wanting to improve it too.
The second category is those that call Park Safe LA, “An utterly useless app that only a complete moron would need.” Yes, that’s actually a direct quote from a comment under the LA Weekly article that ran. This line of thought believes all questions about parking signs in LA can be resolved by simply taking the time to read the signs. I find myself wanting to challenge these individuals to what I envision as a “sign-off.” This would amount to my version of a Wild West shootout, but instead of guns and dusty streets, we’d challenge each other to understand a variety of different LA parking signs.
I actually agree with the people in the second category to a certain extent. I largely believe this second category is made up of those that either lived in LA for a long time or largely visit the same parts of town every day. If you see the same signs every day like those around your apartment and work, you should probably get the hang of them pretty quickly, but if you are like me and find yourself in Culver City in the morning, Venice the afternoon, NoHo the late afternoon, Sherman Oaks in the evening, and downtown at night, it can get confusing. Each part of town has their own distinct signs with subtle differences.
The final group of people is those that appear to dig the app and want me to create an Android version. I appreciate this group, but sometimes find their method of communicating their desire for an Android version a little less than desirable. I’ve had people literally threaten to harm me because I initially only created an iPhone version. This seems a bit extreme guys.
To those that request this politely I am grateful for their input and want to make it happen, to those that call me an iPhone-centric asshole for not making an android version yet, I think they are confused how many hours this has taken and how little money it has garnered. This is absolutely a project bore out of my desire to create something that helps people and has very little to do with recouping money for the time I’ve put into it.
From a first time app developer’s point of view, it is incredibly encouraging that people have such passionate feedback about my app, although the death threats are a bit much guys.
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