Facebook is making sure it does not go the way of other social media company’s that grew and just diapered. The way Facebook plans to do that is to focus on building standalone apps to take advantage of the mobile space. They started with the purchase of Instagram. That worked out very well after the initial revolt of the Instagram loyalist. Now Facebook is after the news app category. Feedly, Newstand, Pulse and top dog Flipboard should all be worried. Facebook’s new app is called Paper and it simply beautiful. It’s like Filpboard, Twitter and Facebook joined to produce a mobile app. A fight to see who will when this space will be quick and swift. Facebook has over a Billion users. They all will have a login to the app. They all have the potential to be active users on the app. Even if just a fraction of Facebook’s users base take to the app, it’s a win for Facebook.
There will be comparison to Flipboard right away. However, Facebook promises a distraction layout. The first thing you will in the new app is your News feed. Facebook has a few curated cards to get you started that range from sports, food, science and design. Facebook is said that articles will come from sites we all know and love as well “emerging voices.” Facebook also noted that yes, big publishers would be is to find as well. Navigation on the app is all done with swipes. You’ll be able to take advantage of the gyro in your phone. You will be able to tilt the phone to see every detail in panoramic pictures. The app uses very few icons. Videos will automatically play full screen. The app will in the AppStore on February 3rd. Facebook users will be able to create their own stories, and preview how their posts will look before sharing them. Those posts can go back to Facebook itself. One wonders if these self-published stories are the “emerging voices” you will see on the app. Paper is the first product from Facebook Creative Labs, a division in the company formed to create new apps for mobile devices.