My husband and I were watching CNBC last night, and based on one of the stories being covered, started discussing app development. I should explain my husband is an IP lawyer, and has app clients. We hear and see via TV and social media what the US and Australians are using for apps, and I can tell you that apps rarely make it across a national or linguistic border intact. Apps are trends, and those trends only cross border when similar activities are happening or trending in another country. For example, something very Belgian is a Twunch (Twitter lunch) which most folks I know in Belgium are familiar with and most others outside Belgium are not. There are Twunch apps on Android and Apple for seeing the latest Twunches scheduled.

I have not been traveling much for the last six months due to work, and so when I see colleagues on Twitter using certain apps or links to apps, I have to scratch my head as to what the heck some of these things are.

So just a note to app developers that you only make headway across regions when people who use your app can influence others in a different geography to try it. Adoption is important, but so is dissemination and having the longevity to cross regions.

Apps are trendy, and trends pass. How will your app last, or do you not care that it lasts? What is the real lifespan of your app?