As with many ADD-riddled entrepreneurs and perfectionists, I very often find myself “on to the next thing”. This drives my wife crazy–but after nearly 30 years of marriage and two teenage boys with similar wiring, she just shakes her head and take a deep breath.

As someone who is strapped to a “flickering screen” nearly 26 hours a day, I have developed (and overcome) several online addictions. 

1. First it was font collecting. 
2. This was followed by the harvesting of music.
   Do you remember the challenges of finding particular songs and albums in the pre-iTunes/Napster world? I spent years searching for, “The Best of Louie, Louie”–scouring every used record store.
3. With the dawn of mobile devices, my latest obsession is online apps.

There are two categories of apps that offer the flickering metallic shine that quickly sucks me in.

1. GAMES
2. TO-DO LIST GENERATORS 

From a brand longevity standpoint, it is extremely interesting to watch new games emerge, ignite and then quickly burn out. Draw Something, Angry Birds, Words With Friends, Letterpress, Dots–I’ve been there and done that. 

Just today, I deleted Boom Beach in favor of its predecessor, Clash of Clans.*

*BTW:
In researching this post, I now see that there are tactics and strategy guides now available for this particular online attack app. Suddenly my infatuation has begun drifting with the thoughts of the next new thing. In games, I am looking for entertainment–not an advanced degree requirement!

I like To-Do Lists where you have little boxes that when selected, provide a nicely executed check mark and a pleasing sound. Todo, Any.DO, Wunderlist, and Clear have all appeared on my mobile device at one time or another. For the time being, the to-do list app of choice is Asana. Check back with me next week, my app stock rotates on a regular basis–one of the advantages to having limited space on my mobile devices.

What does this mean from a branding and marketing perspective? As in fishing, the more lines that you have in the water, the better your odds for a fresh fish dinner. There is a real challenge for app developers in creating brands that stand the test of time–or at least 3 months. With shelf-life that short, app love and marriage may require great time and effort. –Doug.