Remember all of this excitement hoopla over Facebook’s latest standalone app, Poke, yesterday? You aren’t the only one that is interested, apparently. As The Next Web reports, Poke by Facebook has hit the No. 1 free app spot on Apple’s App Store, just a day after being released.
Make no mistake about it, the big companies like Facebook and Google are going to have the best holiday season ever thanks to Apple and iOS. It’s very rare to see utility or social apps hold the top free app spot like Google Maps has over the past week, and like Facebook Poke probably will. It’s usually a game, or a boogers app that holds that down.
And they get massive downloads because of it, especially during this time of the year.
What does this mean for consumers…and for Apple? Most iOS users who are getting new devices, or even first-timers, are swayed by what’s hot on the App Store. The leaderboard is very important to onboard new users into the app ecosystem. Apple likes to highlight the best and brightest that shows off their technology, but the leaderboard shows what users are really interested in. Today, it’s all about Poke.
When Facebook said it was focusing on mobile, it wasn’t kidding. Holding the No. 1 free app spot is like having the biggest kiosk in a mall during the biggest rush of the year. This type of crowding from big companies isn’t what the App Store has seen over the years, as we usually have a big game launch right around Christmas, thus ruling the charts since Apple freezes new submissions and releases during the holidays.
Note that Snapchat is holding the No. 9 spot, and is clearly slipping in popularity, and Google is sitting pretty at both No. 2 (Maps) and No. 5 (YouTube). Even Pinger’s free texting and calling app is right up there at No. 6.
It’s also important to note that the new “hot” apps tend to surge up to the top quickly, as Poke clearly has, but remaining there for more than a few days is a real feat. Can Facebook do it? Let’s see as all of those new iPads, iPhones, Touches and iPad minis get opened next week. Also, having a billion users surely doesn’t hurt your distribution and marketing efforts.
Welcome, Facebook. Seriously. Who knew that a Poke would be so important?
[Photo credit: Flickr]
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