Quick Bytes – Dec 8th: 2018 App Predictions Released

A look at the most interesting startup and business-related news stories of the week.

Consumer spending in app-stores up 30%

Quick Byte

App Annie’s report is out this week forecasting what business will be like for apps next year. A projected 30% increase has been calculated on in-app purchases, not surprisingly, mostly in the game space. However, the share of in-app purchases from non-game apps is set to outpace that of games next year, due to the in-app subscription model as a new way of monetizing these apps. Source: Tech Crunch

The Full Story

Consumer spending on all mobile app stores will surpass $110 billion in 2018, according to a new report from App Annie, out today, which forecasts the state of the app ecosystem for next year. The $110 billion figure represents a 30 percent increase from the year prior, the firm also said, adding that the majority of the overall spend will come from games, as before. Read the Full Article Here

Wearable sleep tech

Quick Byte

Deep sleep is something that all founder’s crave and modern science is revealing more and more just how crucial sleep is to our ability to function effectively – not just cognitively, but also our mental and physical health. So, it’s inevitable that sleep and technology are going to increasingly marry. Here, Dan Gartenberg, talks about the technology he’s developing that stimulates deep sleep – technology he hopes will one day become regular wearable sleep tech. Source: TED

The Full Story

There’s nothing quite like a good night’s sleep. What if technology could help us get more out of it? Dan Gartenberg is working on tech that stimulates deep sleep, the most regenerative stage which (among other wonderful things) might help us consolidate our memories and form our personalities. Read the Full Article Here

Best books for the holidays

Quick Byte

Going into the New Year feeling driven, productive and motivated can have a hugely positive effect on your company and what you can get done. The holiday season is the perfect time to replace your screen with some more tangible words of wisdom. Enter Bloomberg’s list of this year’s best books, selected by leaders in tech, finance and industry – the likes of Marc Andreessen, CEO of Goldman Sachs and more. Source: Bloomberg

The Full Story

These are some of the most popular choices in the annual survey of book recommendations compiled by Bloomberg. Read the Full Article Here

Kids Facebook: Preparing the next generation

Quick Byte

In what many are finding to be a controversial move, Facebook has designed Messenger Kids, an app designed at children. For their part, a smart business move – they know that kids are already using online services but the minimum age for a Facebook account is 13. They’re building brand loyalty from a young age. Messenger Kids doesn’t advertise, but it also doesn’t say what data it’s collecting and what they plan to do with that data. As our kids use technology more and more, we’re going to have to decide how technology can be used with good intentions that don’t take advantage of formative, impressionable years. Source: The Verge

The Full Story

In 1998, as the internet began to spread across the country, Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. Among the act’s most consequential provisions was a rule that children under the age of 13 could not give out their personal information without a parent’s permission. Because of the cost of complying with that law, most internet companies have simply forbidden anyone younger than 13 from signing up. Read the Full Article Here