Paper: First impressions of Facebook's newsmagazine app [Video chat] - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

Paper: First impressions of Facebook’s newsmagazine app [Video chat]

Share via

One day before its 10th anniversary, Facebook released Paper, an app that gives iPhone users a new way to see the content their friends post on the social network.

Paper is laid out like a magazine, with numerous sections for users to turn to. The first section includes posts from users’ friends and the pages they follow -- it’s essentially a new take on the News Feed. Users can customize the Paper app to add whichever sections they want. The available options range from top headlines, tech and sports to Pride, a section about gay rights.

Join The Times’ Michelle Maltais and me as we discuss our first impressions of Facebook’s new mobile news reader app. LIVE DISCUSSION: Join us at 11:30 a.m. as we discuss Facebook’s new Paper app

Advertisement

Users can also post to the social network directly from the Paper app. They can preview what their update will look before it is published, ensuring their post looks clean for the magazine-like Paper app.

For now, Facebook has only made an iPhone version of the app. The company hopes users will like Paper, and if they do, Facebook will bring the app to other devices and operating systems. But launching solely for the iPhone gives Facebook the ability fail quietly and avoid the bad press that it garnered when it launched Facebook Home last year.

Home was a skin Android users could apply to their device that brought all of their Facebook content front and center. It was a big initiative and it quickly failed, with hundreds of poor ratings and reviews on the Google Play store.

Advertisement

Facebook hopes Paper can succeed where Home failed or, at the very least, die a quiet death.

ALSO:

Facebook’s 10th birthday: Zuckerberg reflects, looks to future

Advertisement

Apple reportedly hires sleep expert to work on rumored ‘iWatch’

Facebook marks 10th birthday with personalized ‘Look Back’ videos

Advertisement