There’s an App for That! (or Is There?)

Wouldn’t it be great if we had an app on our iPhones that would make the bed for us? A recent piece in the New York Times discussed people’s dream apps, as well as more realistic and workable ones, that people wish existed. To me, the article made me think that somewhere out there, real people are conceptualizing smart phone applications, making them happen and getting paid for it. After all, someone has to be the creative force behind those thousands of options in the iPhone app store. Not only does the article remind me how much time people spend toying around with these mostly pointless but occasionally useful apps, but it also brings to light how the creative side of app programming for smart phones has truly become an in-demand niche career.

Turns out the writer of the Times piece had used his Twitter account to ask his followers what apps they wish existed. One of the responses in the article that I find most humorous is a wish for an app that "adds background noise (airport, party…) during my calls, so people don’t think I’m a nerd sitting at my computer all day." Kind of pathetic, but perhaps worthwhile in an age where we often tailor our social network pages to make us appear cooler than we really are.

Another one that piqued my interest was an app for malls and department stores so that you don’t have to search out one of those ever-elusive mall directory maps. A second was an app for tourists triggered by a phone’s GPS system that would give you a head’s up when you are nearing a significant landmark with a nifty little text-and-audio description. My personal favorite app idea was something dubbed the "Rejuvenator"—a dream app where you could take a picture of yourself and the app would take 10 or 15 years off your age!

Now I don’t know if I have the creative brainpower to come with app ideas such as these. Mine would be more in the realm of impossibility, such as an app that performs full-out home maid services. But there are people who have the creativity and technical know-how within them to make most of the above-mentioned apps a reality. So if you are an ideas person with programming skills (or just know how to use App Inventor Software), you may be able to make a career out of it. Definitely worth looking into!