Price: Free Score: 9/10 Category: Social Networking
The best apps and social media platform are the ones which can be boiled down to a single, simple idea. In the case of Thumb for iPhone (official website here), the idea is this: you post a question, image, or dilemma, and the community gives you a thumbs up or thumbs down.
The Thumb tagline is “Decisiveness is overrated,” and while that statement may be arguable, the appeal of Thumb isn’t. It’s a supremely simple, cool idea, and perfectly tailored to the short attention spans of other people online (while still generating plenty of attention for you!)
There’s really no limit to the questions you can pose to the community. Upload a pic of yourself and ask “Does this dress make me look fat?” or “Is it time for a haircut?” or “Does this mole look cancerous?” and in seconds, you can have unbiased responses. It’s got all the addictive clickability of Hot or Not, but with a wider array of questions, concerns, and subject areas.
Seriously, this is an addictive app that can quickly eat away at all your free time. And your non-free time. Users have described it as “More addictive than cocaine!!!” and “more addictive and smoking.” You have been warned.
The app itself is well-designed, stable, and easy to navigate. And there really is social aspect, beyond the mere thumbs up, thumbs down interactions. You can also engage in one-on-one conversations as well, plus there’s the ability to save items that you’re passionate about to create a “visual montage of opinions.”
If you’re looking for a fresh social network where you can kill some time, Thumb is absolutely worth checking out. Just be careful: it can become a major (and majorly fun) timesuck.
Thumb is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.