Today Facebook Creative Labs will launch it”s first product for iOS, the Facebook Paper app. It”s an extensive re-imagining of the Facebook newsfeed. It has been crafted specifically for how users consume and publish content on mobile devices. Think of it as a blend of a customisable Newsreader and the Facebook Timeline. Once you install the Facebook Paper app, you may never need to use the generic Facebook App ever again.
Paper makes storytelling more beautiful with an immersive design and fullscreen, distraction-free layouts. We’ve also made it easier to craft and share beautiful stories of your own.
Who are Facebook Creative Labs?
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Paper is the first of multiple standalone apps that the startup-like labs plan to release.And they are doing so somewhat seperatley from the rest of the company. Of course they are under the guidance of CEO Mark Zuckerburg. However, the team have been granted an amount of freedom to work independently towards it”s own creative goals. Facebook Creative Labs were formed after the 10th anniversary of Facebook”s founding and is a sign of where the company is headed in the future.
What can you expect from the Facebook Paper app?
Once you have installed Paper, It will be set up with stories from your newsfeed that you can browse by scrolling horizontally casino and tap on stories to dive deeper in. Paper gets rid of a number of UI elements such as buttons and enables the full screen of the device for each status update, news story, photo and video. Visually it looks stunning and we can”t wait to get our hands on it.
The customisation of sections within the Facebook Paper app is where things get really neat.
You can add sections such as Score, Headlines, Cute, Planet, Enterprise, Exposure, Flavor and Ideas. For full sections and what they include we will just have to wait until the release today. The idea behind using sections in Paper is that it will collate and display stories”s selected by Facebook”s editors from a range of sources. Along with the usual articles from big publications it aims to mix in stories from bloggers, public figures and even an average Joe from time to time.
The Future of Facebook
If Facebook is going to thrive and not just try to survive another 10 years this is the kind of App it needs to stay fresh and appealing to it”s users. Paper is not just another version of the Timeline, it”s a complete restructure optimised for mobile viewing.
It appears the Facebook Paper app will only be available in the US for the iPhone for the time being. No details are yet to emerge on an iPad version or an international release date.
While you wait for the release make sure you have a look at the introduction video for the Facebook Paper app.
Introducing Paper from Facebook on Vimeo.