Apps this week - Facebook Paper & Flappy Bird
I like to download, use and delete lots of apps. In this weekly column, I write about two apps which I am trying out for the week. This week I am trying Facebook's latest standalone app called Paper and an addicting, frustrating, virally growing mobile game called Flappy Bird
Facebook Paper - Content is King
Initial thoughts
Loved the video and audio integration during the tutorial!
Ok, I can actually see myself using this app on a daily basis because i'm sick of opening safari then going to google news!
I wonder how they figure which content to display under the different categories?
A new way to use Facebook!
What does it do?
Facebook Paper is the latest in series of apps (ReCode.net, Inside.com to name a few just in last month) which want to convince you that they have the content which you are interested in. You get to choose multiple categories which interest you while Facebook timeline is prominently featured as the main category when you launch the app. So not only are you getting content from many other sites you are also seeing what your friends are sharing, their status updates, and all the features of regular Facebook.
What is actually interesting about this app is how well they have merged in content from multiple sources. Want to know whats happening in the tech space? Just add the tech category. Interested in photography? Theres an Exposure category.
Seriously speaking, talk about taking away all the nonsense admin work which exists in the main app and focusing on creating / sharing content, Facebook Paper has done an amazing job removing the noise.
I want to open Facebook, see what my friends talking about, read things which interest me from any part of the web and if I find them interesting share them with my friends.
Surely you are going to use the main Facebook app less and less. Facebook recognizes that people are maxing out their interest in their core app experience. I don't think the main app ever goes away but if they want to keep people like me engaged they need to know what I want and Facebook Paper is a step in the right direction. I will spend much more time consuming and eventually sharing content, which is ultimately the engagement which Facebook can monetize.
Ads?
I haven't seen any ad's in my main Facebook category but I am sure is in the works. In-fact the way Paper is setup, I can image the experience of engaging with an Ad is going to be pretty interesting. Advertisers must be salivating.
Flappy Bird - Simple & addictive frustration
Initial thoughts
OMG, this is annoying!
This can't possibly be this hard!
Ok seriously I can do better than this!
Grrr, this is hard, ok Hans let's get to 5!
Ok, I have a plan cruise in the middle and then stutter flap as the course appears.
Wow, I hate this game, I wonder what my friends got?
Ok seriously, I am addicted
What is the game about?
The objective of the game is to fly a bird through a maze of pipes which appear on the right side as you fly through the air. The only action you can take is tap the screen. Tapping the screen causes your Flappy Bird to go higher, not tapping it causes you to drop to the ground. Each time you pass an empty space between the pipes you get one point, signified by a "ding" noise.
This is my kinda game! - my wife
The beauty of the game is how simple it is to pick up. In less than 30 seconds I understood everything there was to know about the game.
Don't speak with me, you'll mess me up! - Me speaking with my wife
My wife and I were both hooked! She would purposefully speak with me when she heard that the ding ding ding noises because it mean't I was doing well.
Ok 5 more turns and then i'm done
Remember when you were young and mom would say turn off the game? Your reply was "ok just one more time mom". Welcome back to your childhood. I had to be up at 5am the next day and it was 11pm and I had been playing for an hour so I had to seriously force myself to stop in 5 more turns. What happened? I played till 11:30pm until I just turned off my phone to make sure I don't play anymore.
Feats are worth sharing
This game is not easy and hence the reason I tweeted my score twice when I got to 7 and 10. Yes that seems like a low number but it took me over an hour to get to that.