iPhone Developer Profiles

As iPhone programmers, we have a collective credibility problem: none of us can point to years of experience and a deep showcase of examples, so it’s hard for potential clients to know which of us are capable and which of us aren’t.

We’re introducing Mobile Orchard Profiles to help solve this problem:

Profiles and Endorsements

Mobile Orchard Profiles is a wiki-like, community editable, “who’s who” of people and companies creating iPhone applications.

We’re judged by the company we keep, so people and companies can receive endorsements — a strong indicator of credibility — from other people and companies.

It Worked For Rails

In the early days, Ruby on Rails had the same “who’s capable” problem. Endorsements on the Working With Rails site were helpful in establishing credibility with potential clients. The success of WWR inspired this site.

Call To Arms

I ask you to:

1. Create a profile for yourself*
2. Claim your profile as your own
3. Endorse someone you respect. If they don’t have a profile you can create one for them
4. Link to your profile from your blog

*We’ve launched the site with around 3000 profiles. If you had an app in the store in early November there’s a profile with your apps in it waiting for you to claim. Use the search to find your profile.

Claiming Profiles

Profiles can be “claimed” by who they represent, making them editable only by that person/company. Claiming a profile also lets you endorse other profiles and personalizes it with an avatar.

What To Include

Include project experience, links to apps in the store, screen shots and icons, and geographic location. Mention specialties: if you are a UI/user-experience designers, someone who can create physics engines for iPhone games, or an audio playback/recording expert then be sure to say so!

Free and Evil-Free

There’s no “pay for a listing,” no “pay for premium features” or anything nefarious. The site will eventually be supported from iPhone help-wanted ads.

More To Come

I’ll be working away on the site on an on-going basis. Expect regular updates and new features to keep things interesting.

I’m excited about contributing this to our community and look forward to seeing how you use it. Thanks!