Developers Spoilt with Apple’s Xcode 4.1 and Socialize Social SDK

Just as Apple released the Xcode 4.1 on the Mac, developers seem to have become the centre of everyone’s attention. But if that wasn’t enough Socialize Inc. has also launched social software development kit (SDK) for developers to enjoy. The SDK lets developers add in-app social networking elements to mobile applications. The software developer kit enables developers to achieve social integration.

Socialize was initially established in 2008 as three-person PointAbout, the company responsible for AppMakr, a browser-based platform designed to create iPhone apps. Three years down the line after some serious re-branding the company is now known as Socialize Inc and has bolstered with its currently 16-person team. It is on the AppMakr that its latest social SDK was formed.

The platform allows developers to combine content compatible with services such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Again, this allows for vital interaction to ensure growth like so many existing apps through collaborations with these giant social services. Social interaction can actually increase app usage by more than 50%.

By incorporating comments, ‘likes’, ‘+1’ and shares developers are able to unlock social interaction. More importantly at the same time it creates value both for the app itself, but also for those social services of which features are incorporated.

So what exactly can developers do with Socialize’s latest kit?

Developers can add ‘create a profile’ function to apps. Data input features can be added to allow users to share information with fellow users. It is open source so therefore offers great versatility

The turnkey mobile social network features allows developers upgrade both iOS and Android built apps. To date there has been nearly 8,000 apps created on the AppMakr platform serving a respectable 1 million users across all operating systems.

The app market at present is overcrowded making it extremely difficult to make an impression. Even those that manage to attract users are then hit with issue of such a limited shelf-life. This makes it hard for app developers to ensure their financial well-being. Daniel R. Odio, CEO of Socialize, Inc., rightly points out that “the reality about mobile apps is that average user engagement plummets to less than 1 percent only 90 days after they are downloaded, and that means lost revenues for app developers and poor ROI for company brands,”.

Another problem for developers is not getting users download apps, but in fact it getting them to engage with the apps. On average an iPhone user has 40 apps on their phone and an Android user 25. It is at this stage that the ‘interest graph’ becomes crucial as it allows users to come together due to shared interest, users that originally would have no means of socially interacting. It is exactly for this reason that Socialize Inc. launched a cloud-based API service. It facilitates in-app interaction like never before.

The future is looking bright for app developers with the latest SDK from Socialize Inc. We should see an increase in socially-powered apps in the future. The latest SDK platform will mean that developers can continue to thrive in what is a very competitive market.