The popularity of any platform is described in terms of the number of applications developed for it and how many developers are interested toward it. This is the core point where Windows 8 and Windows Mobile 8 are facing the biggest problem, as after so many tries, the platform is still not able to attract the developers. Eventually, it is one of the platforms that are receiving least number of apps developed for. Thus Microsoft is offering some lucrative offers to fix the problem.
Microsoft has lately announced a new initiative to attract the developers to create apps for Windows 8 and Windows Mobile 8. As per this initiative, the company will pay out $100 for ever app submitted to the Windows Store or the Windows Phone Store. And if the developers are submitting 10 apps per store, they can earn up to $2,000.
But the big problem with the initiative is, many developers can intend to slap useless or duplicate apps to the store just for money. There are some rules applied to prevent this. As per the first stipulation, the app submitted to the Store cannot be a clone to the previously submitted app, thus it must be original. The second stipulation says the apps must be something more than just opening a web-page, literally it should be something that users love to use.
The news is both shocking and unusual for most of the people, because no one ever imagines the software giant Microsoft has to pay to attract the developers. According to Charlie Kindel, the former Windows Phone 8 Manager, paying developers to target your platform is a sign of desperation. Some people also consider it as a good marketing strategy, because as per the rules of the industry, no matter what efforts you have to make, the final outcome matters.
It might be a sign of desperation, but is a win-win situation for both developers and Microsoft. The cash strapped developers will be attracted toward it, at least for the cash they get. On the other hand, Microsoft will be capable to entice the developers to come and submit their apps on Windows Store or Windows Phone Store, which will be a great promotion strategy. The company has also stated that the promotion will only last for the first 10,000 apps submitted. Reaching to this number with $2,000 seems pretty challenging, but you never know.
