Beware the flashy trends, especially when they are mostly promoted by developers who want you to spend money with them.

A few years ago everything was “develop an app.” If you weren’t developing an app you weren’t one of the cool kids. You wouldn’t be allowed to sit at the right lunch table. You were just so backwards. You were infected with “old-school thinking.”

“Old-school thinking” means things like looking before you leap, and expecting a return on your investment.

Well, apps have generally turned out to have been a waste of time and effort.

Publishers have their doubts about the App Store reinforced by tales from other app developers.