A Word From Elaine A few days ago, I interviewed Dong Nguyen,
developer of the #1 app Flappy Bird. Dong is a one man team, who
built this game in just 3 days using reused artwork. He said he
didnt use any promotion methods and he put his success down to his
luck. Since then, various people have suggested more sinister
reasons for his success. This include scamming the store and using
bots, to artificially drive the app up the charts. A main reason
for this suspicion is the peculiar spikes you can see in the apps
history.
Flappy Birds Rank History
A Word From Elaine Since then I uncovered a viral twitter
review competition for the Flappy Bird app which is fueling
downloads and viral sharing, and @pewdiepie, the most subscribed
person on youtube has also shared videos of the game to his
followers. I caught up with Dong to confirm the scam rumors are
untrue. Email conversation follows.
From Elaine To Dong Hey Dong, A few people have left comments
on the blog, questioning whether bots, or similar, were used in
these games to artificially drive up the downloads to reach the top
charts. Attached is a picture of the apps rankings. The history of
the app would seem to indicate some form of paid traffic was used.
Are you sure you didnt use any bots, paid traffic or anything other
than organic DLs? It does seem strange that there is no reason at
all you are aware of for the sudden rise to the top charts. Thanks
again, Elaine
From Dong To Elaine Hi Elaine. Thank you for sharing and the
post. I am sure I didnt use any kind of promotion. Regards,
Dong
A Word From Elaine Flappy Bird really does seem to be a 1 in a
million app. Its chart success defies logic, it has captivated the
world with its gameplay, and Dong is becoming an inspiring legend
to indie app developers around the world.
