Facebook has done it again.
On February 3, 2014 Facebook launched a new visual news reader for the iOS called Paper, which first product from Facebook Creative Labs. The Paper app has allowed Facebook to become “the modern age newspaper.”
The app is innovatively designed, yet still familiar enough to not drive away older Facebook users.
For those of you who are not familiar with Paper, the app consists of your regular Facebook newsfeed, along with other forms of hard and soft news.When you first open the app you are presented the option to choose which sections you would like you Paper to consist of such as; Headlines (world news), Pop Culture, Technology, etc.
The layout of the app then allows you to view pictures and videos on the top half of the section you have open, while statuses or articles are on the bottom half.
As for navigation you are able to swipe left to right to view pictures and texts individually on either half of the screen, or swipe the text up which allows it to cover the whole screen and then swipe right to left to view the next.
All of these options allow for a visually interesting experience for the viewer. Although Paper is an exciting new app for the creators from the Facebook Creative Labs, their users are feeling torn about the app itself.
“Paper is great,” says aspiring web designer Enoch Adams. “The design is simply amazing, but it functions like a slow moving cow. The load time makes it feel like last generation software. They have designed an app I love to use just based off how I interact with it, but never get the chance to because by the time it loads I’m off doing something else.”
On the other hand users are ecstatic about the new app. “I love that Facebook has put out an app that I can use for catching up on the latest drama between my friends, but yet in the same app swipe to see what’s going on in the world or in the entertainment industry. It’s awesome” says Heather French.
With the success of the app possibly on the rise it’s the perfect time to check it out, because if it succeeds as the creators hope this could be the next big thing.
