Paper and Flipboard share a very similar tiled design that displays news in a grid pattern. However what separates the two is that Paper accentuates interacting with your friends and timeline. These two apps are also very similar in their navigation with Paper's being slightly more complex. Where both of these apps really differ is in their method of finding and reading news. Flipboard makes personalization its first priority and and discovery second. Also, Flipboard focuses on what the users want by allowing them to pick and choose the topics they want to see. While Paper concentrates on alerting readers with trending topics, interaction with your friends, and using broader themes.
Another difference between the two apps is their emphasis on socializing. It's obvious that Facebook's Paper would put social media at the center of their app, while Flipboard's approach to social media is much more subtle. What I find bothersome is it seems that just about anything you can do on the Paper app you can also do on the original Facebook app so why even download it.
This leaves me with a few questions; was Facebook copying Flipboard? Will Paper survive as a news app? Will apps like these replace traditional news websites? Let me know what you think.
Paper vs Flipboard
It's always interesting to examine what new apps gain popularity and which ones seem to fall flat. It seems that while the two seem to have a similar design, it probably is just coincidence due to the similar functions of the apps themselves. Whether apps like this will replace traditional news websites... that's a little harder to answer. Sometimes I can't help but think that maybe they will; why go to a separate website for your news when you can just brush up on the latest stories while scanning your various news feeds over your morning coffee? Honestly though, only time can tell.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a marketing strategy to me. It's like you said, why download another app when the Facebook app already does the same thing? However, I also think that even though the app does basically the same thing, if the new app simplifies the content being shown in any way, then people will want to get it. With all of this hype over the “Paper” app, it seems like Facebook is doing it on purpose. They know that their user statistics have dropped over the last year or so, and what they have done is create controversy to get their name back in the news and in the public.
ReplyDeleteAfter downloading Paper on my iPhone and using it for a few days, I actually deleted the regular Facebook app because I think Paper is simply a better designed app. As for the other "feeds" that can be added to Paper, I have not really looked at the couple I added that much, which could be seen as not taking full advantage of what the app has to offer. But I do also have Flipboard, which I think gives you much more information, and more of your own social media sites as well. I agree with Maria that Paper may have been a way to get more attention for Facebook because of declining users. It is certainly getting talked about a lot, since we are talking about it right now.
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