Linda Perkel wanted an easy and fun way to bond with her elementary
school aged boys. She'd had trouble getting more than one word
answers to her questions at the end of the school day and she'd found
herself at loose ends more than once while waiting in a doctor's office
or restaurant. The boys loved playing with her iPhone, and she always
had it with her, so she created an iPhone game that the family could
play together.
How does your iPhone help you save your sanity with the kids?
One
way it helps is when we are out somewhere and I need to keep my
kids from getting bored and tugging on me pleading "Can we go yet?"
while I’m trying to have a conversation with someone or I’m out
shopping and need to concentrate for a minute without the kids asking
me a ton of questions. So I use it to keep them occupied while I’m busy
doing something else and need a little peace and quiet.
Another
way I use it (which is where Quizzler comes in) is when I want to
engage with my kids while keeping them happy (like when we're on a road
trip, at a restaurant, waiting for a movie to start, on a plane, in the
waiting room for a dentist appt, or even dinnertime at home or sitting
at the park, etc.). It turns downtime into quality time for us to bond.
I enjoy talking with my kids and finding out what makes them tick, but
I have boys that won't always talk about things straight on if I just
start asking them questions. My kids love games. With Quizzler,
thoughtful questions are mixed in with goofy ones and I've been
surprised at the insights I’ve gotten my kids from simple questions
like “What was the best and worst thing that happened to you today?” or
“Tell the person on your left something you think they’re good at.”
Other parents have told me the same thing.
What's been the hardest thing about marketing the game?
Getting
visibility has been the hardest--there are over 40,000 iphone apps and
it's hard to get visibility within that crowd. I started a blog, I twitter
about Quizzler, I post information about it to my Facebook page and I
included it on my LinkedIn page. I have learned things along the way
that will make it easier next time—even small things like post-dating your app
when you submit it so that on the date it is approved and hits the
store, it will be right at the top of the "new" section. I created a
demo video
and I have also started submitting the app to publications and websites
that review iphone apps and/or anything family related. The Moms Review website reviewed Quizzler Family and gave it an excellent review and I was thrilled about that
What do your kids say about your game?
They
love it--the genesis of it was honestly a labor of love because my
kids and their cousins love playing the question game. And they love
the iPhone. I thought it would be fun to combine the two in a fun
interface that kids can shake and spin – and that is Quizzler. We
played it last night at a restaurant. Kids love to talk about
themselves and I find it so interesting to hear what they have to say.
I feel like I gain a new insight every time we play--either something
heartfelt and innocent that just makes you melt or something so
unexpected and funny.
What has been surprising to learn about where and how Quizzler is played?
It has been really exciting to see the sales reports that show all the different countries
where people are buying it. My kids and I locate the countries on the
globe whenever a new one pops up. I have heard of people using Quizzler
in innovative ways that I hadn't thought of, like as an icebreaker for
networking at blogging conventions. I also heard of a second grade
teacher in Miami that uses it in her class. She spins for a question
and the kids write an essay about their answer. I get so excited to
hear things like that. I am definitely thrilled and blown away by it
all.
What would you tell someone who's thinking about creating an iPhone app?
If I can do it, anyone can. I heard of an 11-year-old kid
that made his own app. It seems like there is an app for everything,
but there's always a new idea that no one thought of. If you have an
idea for an app, do it!
** note, this post was originally composed for Examiner.com. Turns out my kids love Quizzler too - it IS fun to play in restaurants (we tested with Naomi Sushi in Menlo Park) while you're waiting for the food, or waiting for the check.