Facebook Paper App Released In US

Facebook’s Paper app finally hit the Apple app store Monday, and some are saying it could be the new face of Facebook. So far, the app is only available to those with the iPhone, but if it grows enough in popularity, it may become available to mobile phones everywhere.

According to TechCrunch, the new Paper app not only brings you top news stories, but allows you to browse your Facebook News Feed, get messages, and even gives you your notifications. The Los Angeles Times stated that the company is trying to establish Facebook Paper as the go-to news reader, “taking on Google News, Twitter, mobile app Flipboard and LinkedIn’s Pulse.”

Facebook is an application that many use for a variety of reasons. According to the Lost Angeles Times, consuming news is one of those reasons. Gartner Research analyst, Brian Blau, told the news outlet that Facebook’s Paper app could succeed where the company’s other apps have failed simply because “it plays into how users already consume news and information on Facebook.”

“Many people use Facebook for consuming news they find interesting,” Blau said. “I think the Facebook Paper app may have a bit more success than some of the other app failures that Facebook has had in the past mainly because news has been a central tenet of the Facebook interface for many years.”

So what does this new app really offer users? Facebook’s Paper app seems to center around what the user finds most interesting by giving them different “sections” to choose from. According to TechCrunch‘s Josh Constine, users can select from sections like “Headlines (world news), Tech, Exposure (photography), Ideas (long-form takes on a different topic each day), and meme channels like Cute and LOL.” Constine goes on to say that each section is “filled with stories shared publicly to Facebook from big publishers, public figures, and emerging content creators.”

Founding editor of Marketing Land, Danny Sullivan, told the Los Angeles Times that Facebook Paper could become habit-forming, especially for those who are more attracted to visuals and the idea of constant news updates.

“Apps and consumption of media have become much more visual, much more focused around photos,” Sullivan said. “The existing Facebook app did not allow Facebook to offer that to users. I’m intrigued by it personally because I like to sit at lunch time and read news stories,” Sullivan said. “I might fire up the app if it delivers good news content.”

Facebook has received some criticism for its new Paper app mainly because another well established app already went by the name “Paper”. The company has reportedly been asked to change the name.

For all the US iPhone users out there, will you be giving the Facebook Paper app a try?

[Image by JuliusKielaitis / Shutterstock.com]