I learned alot yesterday just talking to a young friend visiting from Finland (he’s 25 years old).
I’ve never played Angry Birds before – that is until he showed me the game on his phone. Now I don’t know alot about Angry Birds except that they are a successful app. My friend told me the app was made by a successful Finnish company called Rovio and although they have many apps, they are building a brand around Angry Birds – merchandise, toys, etc. He showed me the game and I was astounded at how simple it was. The game has many levels, but its amazing what cute art and a simple entertaining idea can do for a phone app.
So, to learn more, I of course visited AngryBirds.com and found their official site loaded with merchandise for sale. I was impressed, they had loads of plush toys, keychains, etc, and links to join their facebook page or Twitter account. Now, I don’t know how many other “failed” apps Rovio launched and scrapped or left in the dust. But they have a winner in Angry Birds. How do they make money? He said they have ads that appear on their apps, and Apple charges for the app while it is free on other platforms. Now after visiting their website, I’m sure they are making piles of money off merchandise sales and other opportunities spinning off from their successful app. They are building a brand that will extend into other opportunities.
My friend is also an avid traveler and although he does stay in hostels, he told me about a new website he uses – CouchSurfing.com They bill themselves as the world’s largest travel community. The way it works, members sign up and then post if they have “couch” availability where travelers can stay the nite on someone’s couch (for free). It’s a great way for student travelers to save money. They meet great people to share stories with, and then they also host other travelers for free on their couch when back at their own home. I had never heard of “couch surfing” before, but it sounds like a great idea. And of course, the company owns CouchSurfing.com
I enjoyed talking to my younger friend all night because he gave me some insight into his world from two fresh perspectives: from the viewpoint of a young, mobile male, and from the viewpoint of a Finnish man traveling the world who is able to speak English fluently and already knows much about the international community we live in. Some other things to note – we never spoke before we met, just made all arrangements by texting eachother internationally. He of course makes all his travel arrangements online, uses wifi wherever possible (bus, train, etc) and knows his mobile phone inside + out.
We can always learn a few things by talking to younger people active in different circles than ones we live in – we may just find out where we are headed in the future!
