[David Strom's Web Informant] 27 May 2010: Looking it up in Dictionary.com

[David Strom]

Web Informant 27 May 2010: Looking it up in Dictionary.com

When was the last time you actually hauled out a printed copy of your
dictionary and looked up the meaning or spelling of a particular word?
I am thinking for me it has been at least a decade, and indeed I don't
even own a printed copy anymore. Who needs all that paper when there
are so many fine Web sites, such as M-W.com, dictionary.com, and even
Google will give you a definition if you just precede your word of
interest with the word define.

But looking stuff up on the Web is so last year; now we have an app
for that. Several apps, of course: on the Apple AppStore, there are
four free apps, including two from Dictionary.com for the iPad and the
iPhone apiece. And Dictionary.com has apps for Blackberries and
Android, as well as providing definitions on its Web site too.

The vendor has actually taken the time to analyze how people use their
apps and Web site to look up words. And they found some very
interesting trends that I will share with you here. For those of you
that are word nerds, enjoy.

First, iPhone users are more utilitarian and just want to get a
definition in the moment. They use them mostly during the workweek.
Same with the Blackberry and Android app users. iPad users are looking
for entertainment, if such a thing could be said about dictionary
usage. They are more likely to play the audio files to hear
pronunciation, getting the word of the day, and actually playing games
with their dictionary apps. They use their app on weekends more too
and spend about 25% more time on the app per session than the other
users.

Second, the mobile apps are getting more usage than the Web site,
about two or three times more often. It seems that people want to get
definitions when they are in the moment. I am sure the Dictionary.com
apps have settled quite a few bar arguments. But what is also apparent
from the Dictionary.com usage data is that "people are just as
interested in word discovery when there's no immediate need," says the
press release from the company.

So when you think about developing the next great iPhone app, think
about these analytics. Spend some time reviewing your user data to see
trends and patterns, and think about ways that your mobile app can
complement the content on your existing Web site. Satisfyingly, one of
the most often searched-for words using the Dictionary.com app is
erudite. You'll have to look it up.

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