A Very Brief Modern History of Trending Apps…So Far

Everything is a trend or a fad these days, including apps.  Every few months some app game becomes the thing everyone is playing. You get invites from your friends, everyone on the bus is playing, and you can spot the familiar screen coming up in meetings, and during lunch.  And then suddenly, the trend ends, and everyone completely forgets about that game that they obsessed on.   Here is the quick look at everything you’ve obsessed on since you finally got that smartphone.

How many of these bandwagons did you jump on?

. . .

Angry Birds.  This was the one that really kickstarted it all. Angry Birds is still popular today but when it first came out everyone who had a smartphone played this game.

Plants vs Zombies.  When Angry Birds was still big dog on top but losing a little bit of its popularity, this gem got its chance to shine. People like a good strategy based game mixed with a stupid concept and what is a more stupid concept than trying to defend your garden from a bunch of Zombies by growing plants? This game was popular enough to even get shout outs on shows like Modern Family.

Words With Friends.  This was the first fad to incorporate challenges against friends in real time into the aspect. Words with Friends was pretty much you trying to show off against your friends you knew more than them (or your chance to show you were a better cheater). You saw a lot of people turning to the person next to them asking them for a word and people getting really pumped about having 8 letter words. Somehow nobody realized they were just playing electronic scrabble though…

Draw Something.  There was a one month period where everyone played Draw Something and uploaded the “hilarious” pictures to Facebook of what they would send each other. Every you looked people were playing this electronic Pictionary game where there was no winner. You were given a word and told to draw it on a tiny glass screen that was already hard to type on let alone draw a detailed picture of a rocket ship or Lady Gaga.

Song Pop.  Another game that relies on you playing against a friend. You to play head to head against another player in what is basically an electronic edition of name that tune. All you have to do is guess the song title or artist before your friend does.

Temple Run. We decided to take it back a step from the games that required thought and went to a fun easy game that just required simple finger swipes and sometimes moving the phone from side to side. It was easy to get wrapped in this never ending game of constant running, controlling some wannabe Indiana Jones character. There was not a whole lot to this game which is what made it addictive. Just the perfect time waster.

Subway Surfers.  Whats the best way to capitalize on something? Basically copy it. Subway Surfers ripped off Temple Run but in a different setting and added a few kinks to make it a little more desirable. It was more than just being on the ground like Temple Run, you also could go ON TOP OF TRAINS! But there’s more! Hover boards! Since Back To The Future Part 2, Americans have had a love affair with Hover boards. The game also updated to a new setting every month and had daily rewards with really added a big replay factor and helped it take over Temple Run.

Snap Chat.  Not a game, but still a huge hit for trendy smart phone users. With Snapchat, you take a picture, sent it to friends, and they get to (well, have to) look at the photo for just a few seconds before it disappears. The intended use, of course, was sexting. But it quickly turned into let-me-send-people-selfies-of-myself-making-a-stupid-face and hey, maybe put some funny drawings on it. Why? Because I’m bored.

Candy Crush.  Did you ever play Bejeweled? Well if you did then you have already basically played Candy Crush. This is the current trendy app that everyone seems to be obsessing over and trying to invite people to so they can get more sessions. People who play this are similar to crack addicts where they are begging everyone for some help to get their next fix of candy crush. They can’t got a damn day without playing it and shoving it in your face.

Bitstrips.   This is the newest of the smart phone fads. It’s so popular right now, that the app keeps crashing. If you’ve been minding your business on Instagram or Facebook and all of the sudden seen a weird animation with a caption thats explaining this is a crudely made representation of you and your friends, you’ve been bitstripped. This app allows you to make your own one panel comic and insert yourself or friends into it and for some reason this thing is blowing up.