I followed up with Patrick Mork, VP Marketing of GetJar (got a video of him coming from the MIR Developer Networking event). I wanted to know more about how operators are reacting to GetJar nowadays. For a long time, mobile operators were seeing services such as GetJar (effectively a huge, free app store for mobile applications) as a massive, massive threat. Many wanted nothing to do with GetJar — indeed some even blacklisted the service just in case it canibalised their on-portal application downloads.
Crazy. But true.
However more recently, the operators have been entirely changing their tune — indicative of an increasing trend toward cooperation, perhaps?
Here’s Patrick’s explanation.
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Ewan,
You asked recently about how and why GetJar, a company previously blacklisted by networks and operators alike is now welcomed and even partnering with them to provide mobile content. I think the answer to that is that the perception of the content we host and of the type of company we are has now changed for three main reasons:
1) Stricter policing and protection of the content on our network – we have put policies in place to protect Intellectual Property (IP) and to avoid piracy. For instance we recently had a Gameloft game posted by a user, our response was to immediately remove this from the site and to freeze that users account
2) We have looked into the positioning of content on our site – GetJar is an open sourced community which by its very nature means we have adult content available. We have worked hard to ensure this content only reaches the users who specifically look for it and are careful of how it is marketed, ensuring it will not appear in an inappropriate place or next to any large, established brands.
3) Traffic – With over 20 million downloads a month of free content, GetJar is fast becoming both an interesting source of content and traffic for mobile operators the world over. Operators are constantly looking for new ways to excite their customers through innovative mobile content offerings. In addition, they are also seeking to maximize their investments by generating as much data traffic as possible. The industry needs consumers to embrace content and the success of app stores like GetJar and of course Apple, coupled with the economic climate help encourage user adoption of mobile content and drive traffic.
Mobile Operators’ and GetJar’s success are not mutually exclusive, our partnerships to provide app stores for the likes of 3UK and Vodafone Ireland show that the combination of traffic and content works. GetJar as a company is growing up, monetising data traffic and hosting new and interesting content which for the networks is now a compelling offer.
Talk to you soon,
Patrick
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Excellent stuff Patrick — thanks very much for taking the time.
If you, dear reader, are looking to get your mobile applications out to a larger audience, do think about GetJar. Let me know if you need an intro. As ever I’m ewan@mobileindustryreview.com .
