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The Rise and Fall of Flappy Bird

As you know, Flappy Bird, the amazingly simple, addictive game has been removed from the App Store and Google Play after only 28 days being in the top 10 of the App Store by it’s author, Dong Nguyen. The story surrounding it’s rise to popularity and it’s ultimate demise is truly an interesting one and a must read. One of my favorite sites, Mashable, has so graciously put together a timeline of events leading to the author removing the game and it’s a must read:

From Mashable:

“The story of Flappy Bird — its sudden rise and equally sudden fall — is hard to pin down. That’s partially because Nguyen, overwhelmed by the popularity of the game, has declined press requests for interviews. [Update: Shortly after we posted this story, Forbes tracked down Nguyen in Hanoi, where he revealed that Flappy Bird is “gone forever’ because, essentially, it was addictive.]

Still, using Twitter data from Topsy, Nguyen’s Twitter stream and app-ranking data from App Annie, we’ve managed to put together a timeline of the game.”

CLICK HERE to read more.

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Personally, I just don’t understand it. It’s a GAME. Why was the author so beaten up by the press, by Twitter? If you hated the game, hated the graphics, delete it. Yes, he made a lot of money from the game, as do many others, like say, Candy Crush. Is the difference because he was just one guy in Vietnam rather than a huge company? Is it because the graphics resembled old Nintendo of yore? The only people that should care about that is Nintendo, and as of yet, they haven’t done anything about that. I just don’t understand why people couldn’t just download the game and be happy, or delete the game and be happy, rather than harass this man with questions of why it got so popular, why the graphics are what they are, his formula for success.

Could he have handled it better? Probably. Maybe he just should have left Twitter entirely, used some of the money to hire someone to field questions or the like, but he didn’t. Instead, the game was pulled. Now, people are selling their iphones on ebay for mass amounts of money if Flappy Bird is installed. Crazy! Hopefully, Nguyen will now be able to live in peace. In the meantime, I’m gonna go try and beat my all time high score of 13.

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Tech Tuesday: Google, Hulu and Twits!

Welcome to another edition of Tech Tuesday! Here are the top stories in the tech world you may have missed!

Google Logo: Diver Down!

Honoring Jules Verne, the French author who pioneered the Science Fiction genre, Google has an interactive logo today that allows you to explore the depths of the sea.

Jules, best known for his classic novels ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’, ‘A Journey to the Center of the Earth’, and ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ was born on this day in 1828.

Check out the interactive logo HERE.

TwitPic Launches Video for Twitter

Twitpic is bringing support for video to Twitter today, allowing users to timely share their clips. Now, instead of posting your links to YouTube to spread your awesome vid, you can upload it over to Twitpic and share it immediately.

So be sure to tweet @yakkityyaks so we don’t somehow miss your video! Hey, if it’s a good one, it may just get notice on Webtastic Wednesday!

“The Social Break-Up” Study

A study that surveyed 1500 consumers on why they unsubscribe, unlike, or unfollow brands in the social media world was conducted, and the results are in! I would think this shouldn’t be surprising…

More than 90% say they they do it because of too frequent, irrelevant or boring communications. Of the 1500, 91% have opted out of e-mails, 81% have “unliked” on Facebook to remove the company from their News Feed, and 77% say they are just more cautious about who they share their information and e-mail with.

So, now that you have that shocking information (sarcasm), why don’t you go follow the Yak on Facebook and Twitter! We promise not to bore you, too much anyway, and we promise to NEVER share ANY of your information, including your e-mail address!

T-Mobile – All Phones FREE!

As part of a special Valentine’s Day promotion, T-Mobile will offer all of the phones in it’s inventory for free with a new 2 yr. contract this Friday and Saturday. (February 11th and 12th.)

This includes their high-end Smartphones, like the HTC HD7, the T-Mobile G2 and the Samsung Vibrant. You can see a list of all the offers on T-Mobiles website HERE.

These are huge savings, but just like all other companies, I’m sure you will still need to pay the sales tax based on the original price. To take advantage of their offer, you must go to a T-Mobile store. However, there will be some offerings online if you wish to order from the comfort of your home.

Care to guess if this is really just for Valentines Day, or could it be because the Verizon iPhone comes out this weekend? Hmmmm.

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report Returns to Hulu

Fans of Jon Stewart, Colbert and Hulu unite! Both shows are returning to a computer near you. Hulu closed a major deal with Viacom last week, and as part of the deal, a “selection of great current programming from MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, TV Land, BET, and other Viacom channel brands will also be added to Hili Plus.

What does this mean for us? Well, previously the two above shows were on Hulu (free) and have now moved to Hulu Plus. Hulu Plus is a subscription based service that currently costs $7.99 a month. It’s a nice add if you are thinking about cutting the cable cord and accessing HULU through other platforms attached to your TV.

Well there you have it, all caught up. So, what do you think? Will you subscribe to Hulu? Will you run out this weekend for a new T-Mobile phone? Will you @yakkityyaks your Twitpic video? Let us know below!

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Tech Tuesday! This week’s top stories in the world of Geek

I admit it, I am a total geek. I would imagine I am not alone in this, so I thought I would write an article aimed at those like me. Cool geek is how I refer to myself. I am a proud member of “Geeks are Sexy” (yes, they are) over at Facebook, and keep up to date with the Mashable App on my iPad.

I am, however, not a rich geek, and a pretty thrifty one as well. The iPad was a gift, and wifi, not 3g. I do not own an iPhone. In fact, I recently downgraded all the phones on my current “family plan” to newer flip phones (with qwertys of course) and got rid of all internet plans on them. Do I miss it? A little admittedly. However, I would much rather view the web on my larger iPad screen, then on this itty bitty phone screen, and, for free. My family plan bill dropped a whopping $80 dollars by doing it. I just couldn’t justify the $80 for our phones to have internet, and the additional $50 or so that goes to my cable company for home access.

I own a MAC. Yes, I put out a good sum to get it a couple of years ago, but the headaches and cost it has saved me in the long run is well worth every penny. Now I know that statement may have irritated a few PC users, and I’m sorry for that. I was a PC user for years, fearing the switch, but I jumped over anyway, and am so glad I did. I was a PC Technician for years, and the one thing a PC Tech will never tell the customer? “Get a Mac.” It would put us out of business!

I also own a Tivo Box and Wii, and am becoming a Netflix and Hulu streaming extraordinaire. Now, one might say that I am putting all this money out on those services (Tivo, Netflix) how can that make me a thrifty geek? Well, I cut my cable bill WAY down, only receiving, at the moment, cable’s basic service. I’m sure the cable company can’t be that happy with me. Eventually, I plan on going strictly antenna, and cutting the cable TV service all together. It’s just a matter of finding the time to re-wire the house. It’s on the agenda for 2011 however. Now if MagicJack would get number portability…. (prod prod poke poke)…

I just got so tired of every bill I get costing me around $200 a month. When did $200 a month become the norm?

Anyway, I digress. Let’s take a look at this week’s tech headlines:

iPhone coming to Verizon: I heard about this a few days ago, and the Verizon announcement has been made. The iPhone 4 will be exclusively offered for pre-order to current Verizon customers on Feb 3rd and Feb 10th for everyone else.

Now I have to say, if you are interested in getting the iPhone and paying the monthly price, it is well worth it to make the switch. One, it’s an iPhone, and they are, well, awesome. Second, it’s the Verizon Network. You will actually be able to use the “phone” part without dropping calls or losing signal. Nice huh?

Apple Launches the Mac App Store: Yep, now there is one for your Mac. It doesn’t sound like such a big deal since there are already app stores for all other Apple products it seems, but it actually is a big deal. Having an app store (for free and paid apps) will allow for more development, and more business opportunity for developers. Matter of fact, hopefully there will be a YakkityYaks app out there soon! Now, if they can get it together to offer it up to us old Leopard users…. As of now, it’s currently available to Snow Leopard users.  I’m hoping they will remember we are out here soon.

Facebook NOT shutting down on March 15th. I repeat, Facebook is not shutting down on March 15th. I have heard the rumors, seen them spread like wildfire, especially on Facebook itself, and it’s just not true. Just days before, as a matter of fact, Facebook raised $500 Million in funding, so yeah, not shutting down.

Those are the big stories this week! I’m sure there are plenty more, but I have kept you long enough for now. Come check out our FORUMS and talk about the latest in all things tech!