What Is an App?

Ian Bogost:

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot over the past year. It may sound silly, given the ubiquity of the word, but despite all the “apps” on our phones and webpages and other devices, I’m not sure we have a good sense of what it means, or what that meaning implies.

I disagree with his analogy at the end of the piece, but it’s a thoughtful take, and I do agree with his basic premise: that there’s something deeper going on than a mere shortening of “application”.

★ Thursday, 13 January 2011