WebProNews

Tag: poke

  • Facebook’s Slingshot App Appears In App Store (Update: Then Disappears)

    Update: Well, that was quick. They’ve already pulled the app from the app store. I guess it’s not quite ready for primetime.

    The company told The Verge they “accidentally” released a version of the app, but that they’re still working on it, and it will be “ready soon”.

    You may have heard that Facebook was working on a new Snapchat competitor called Slingshot. Well, it’s available now. Kind of.

    The app, while in Apple’s App Store,. according to TechCrunch, is only available in these markets: AU, NZ, JP, HK, SG, CN, KR, IN, RU, TW, VN, MY, PH, TH, ID, PK, SA, AE, LK, KW, LB, QA, MO, KZ, MD, AM, JO, KE, MU, UG, BH, BN, OM, BY, UZ, AZ, YE.

    The description is as follows:

    Slingshot lets you quickly share moments—little and big—with all your friends. Shoot a photo or video of what you’re up to and sling it to a bunch of people. They won’t be able to see your shot until they sling something back. Tap on a shot to react, or simply swipe it away.

    It goes on to say that you can capture photos and videos of moments, unlock new shots (first you have to “sling” something back), swipe a shot away for it to no longer be viewable, respond with a reaction after unlocking a shot, express yourself with captions and drawings, and view unlocked shots later if you’re busy.

    No sign of the app in Google Play.

    Facebook ended up shutting down its last Snapchat competitor. We’ll see if this one does any better.

    Images via App Store

  • Facebook Reportedly Launching New Snapchat Competitor, Possibly Soon

    It appears that Facebook hasn’t yet given up on its dream of having its own app for ephemeral messaging. According to a new report from Financial Times, the company is very close to launching yet another attempt at a Snapchat clone.

    FT says that the app is being called Slingshot (internally, at least), and could hit app stores as early as later this month.

    If the concept of a Facebook-built app that mimics Snapchat’s disappearing message format seems familiar, that’s because this wouldn’t be the first time the company has attempted such a feat. In December of 2012, Facebook unveiled a standalone app called Poke that allowed users to send short photo and video messages that would vanish after one viewing. An obvious clone of the up-and-coming Snapchat, Poke never really took off. Facebook officially killed the app last week, but the app had, for all intents and purposes, been dead for months.

    The people familiar with the plans for Slingshot claim that the app has been in development for months, and that it is a much more serious attempt to snag some users away from Snapchat than Poke ever was (Poke was reportedly created and launched in less than a day).

    In this arena, Facebook’s working from an “if ya can’t buy em, beat em” strategy. Reports indicated that Facebook attempted to acquire Snapchat for about $3 billion late last year, but were turned down. Facebook no doubt sees Snapchat as a major competitor–and they should. Snapchat pushes the biggest volume of messages, by volume, in the country right now.

    This news comes just months after Facebook’s acquisition of another top messaging competitor, WhatsApp.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Facebook Kills Mostly-Dead Poke and Camera Apps

    Facebook has officially killed two apps that were already mostly dead and hadn’t been updated in forever–Poke and Camera (or Camera•, to be precise).

    If you try to find either in the App Store, you’ll come up empty handed.

    Facebook launched their Poke app in December of 2012, a Snapchat-like service that only sported the “poke” name, not its functionality. No, Poke wasn’t about Facebook’s infamous social action of “poking” others, but more about ephemeral communications. Poke allowed users to send short-lasting photos and video messages to one another–messages that would self destruct after they were viewed. Facebook launched Poke right as Snapchat began to take off.

    Although Facebook was excited about its launch (enough to erect a new Poke-themed sign at their Menlo Park headquarters), it never really caught on. It doesn’t appear that Facebook was too serious about the app, as they never really invested any time in it after launch. Now, it’s dead.

    Having said that, it’s not as if Facebook lost all interest in the ephemeral messaging trend. Reports indicted that the company attempted to purchase Snapchat for $3 billion late last year.

    Camera, on the other hand, was launched even earlier (May of 2012). It was a standalone app that not only offered Instagram-like photo-editing features, but allowed for seamless sharing to Facebook. The app debuted just weeks after Facebook announced their $1 billion Instagram acquisition, and it’s no surprise that the company let this one fall by the wayside once Instagram officially became part of the team.

    Here’s what Facebook had to say about shuttering both apps:

    “Since their launch in 2012, we’ve incorporated elements of each app into the Facebook for iOS and Android apps, including the photo upload flow used today. Neither app has been updated in some time and we’ve decided to officially end support by removing them from the app store,” said a Facebook spokesperson.

    Goodbye, Poke. So long, Camera. We hardly knew ye.

    Image via Facebook

  • Guy Pokes His Ex, Gets Two-Year Internet Ban

    When I say poke, I mean Facebook poke–that’s, of course, what brings this story within my purview. How in the hell, you may ask, could a judge see it fit to dole out such a harsh penalty for the simple act of poking someone on Facebook?

    Alas, I must admit–I’ve given you the end of the story.

    Let’s back up.

    Four years ago, Houston resident Justin Pressler, 25, was convicted of some pretty serious crimes: stalking, harassment, and burglary–all perpetrated against his ex-girlfriend. The relationship had gone sour after less than a year.

    The conviction landed Pressler with a 6-month prison sentence and a 10-year probation. Obviously, the terms of said probation involved refraining from having contact with the ex-girlfriend.

    Did you know that a Facebook Poke counts?

    Apparently, Justin Pressler didn’t know that. Or he didn’t care. Either way, the simple act of poking his ex on Facebook–an act that’s literally as simple as clicking your mouse one time–forced a Brazos County judge to completely alter the terms of his probation. Spoiler alert, it was for the worse.

    According to the Houston Chronicle, not only will Pressler be banned from unsupervised internet use for two years, but now he has to wear a tracking device for the next year.

    Don’t poke your ex-girlfriend, whom you harassed and burgled. Don’t violate your probation. You know what, just stop poking. It’s 2014–if you’re going to violate your probation, go out with a bang. Send her a pic on Snapchat or something.

    Image via Facebook

  • Facebook Wants to Interview Poke Users, Places Ads

    Facebook wants to know if you’re poking, and if so, exactly how you feel about poking. Poking, of course, is my childish way of talking about Facebook’s new standalone Poke app, which launched a few weeks ago.

    The social network is currently running ads for research participants on users’ homepages that say, “Facebook is seeking paid participants for phone research.” Facebook is using internet recruiting tool Ethn.io to probe for subjects.

    Once a user clicks on the research ad, they are taken to a short questionnaire that asks whether or not they’re using the Poke app.

    “We’re conducting phone interviews about the poke app and would like to talk with you if you use the app. This is not spam…

    If you’d be willing to talk with us over Skype/GoTomeeting for 45 min and have a webcam, answer a few questions and we’ll contact you if you are selected. Only those who we contact will receive the incentive,” it reads.

    Inside Facebook reports that the “selected users,” will be eligible to receive a $75 Amazon gift card once they complete the Skype/GoToMeeting face-to-face interview. Facebook is apparently also using SurveyMonkey to find interviewees to bring to their headquarters in Menlo Park.

    Speaking of Menlo Park, Facebook has just altered the sign out front of the HQ to celebrate the launch of the Poke app. What used to be a giant image of the famous “like” graphic has been replaced by the logo for the Poke app – a blue, pointing index finger.

    It’s not surprising that Facebook would want some early feedback on its brand new messaging app. Poke allows users to send ephemeral messages to their friends, clearly launching as a competitor to Snapchat. Although some have dubbed both apps “sexting” apps because the messages disappear after a designated period of time, Facebook markets Poke as a way to let your friends in on what’s happening in your life, at the exact moment that it happens. We think that it’s premature to write off Poke as “that sexting app,” as the success of Snapchat has shown that temporary messaging is a type of messaging that interests people.

    With feedback from real users (and from those who haven’t yet used the app), Facebook can develop better strategies to both get more people using the app as well as to get current users more involved.

  • Facebook Celebrates Poke App with New Menlo Park Sign

    Out with the “like,” in with the “poke?”

    Facebook is promoting their brand new standalone app for ephemeral communications, Poke, by revamping their sign the sits in front of their Menlo Park headquarters.

    Facebook launched Poke last month, a rebranding of their longstanding but forgotten “poke” function. The Poke app allows users to send short-lived photo and video messages to friends – lasting either 1, 3, 5, or 10 seconds. Once the time is up, the messages vanish. Poke users are notified if recipients attempt to save a piece of the message with a screenshot. At launch, it was seen as a clear response to the popular Snapchat app, which allows users pretty much the same functionality.

    “To celebrate the launch of our new Poke app, designers Sharon Hwang, Tim Belonax, Ben Barry and Mike Matas—together with the team at New Bohemia Signs—had a little fun changing the sign in front of our Menlo Park HQ,” says Facebook.

    From “like”:

    Facebook like sign menlo park

    …to “Poke”:

    Snapchat, and subsequently Poke, are seen by some as a “sexting” apps, since they allow for discreet communications that hold no staying power. If you want to send your boyfriend a boob pic, Poke is a way to ensure that the image won’t wind up on reddit after you break up.

    Of course, Facebook isn’t marketing Poke like this. They say that it’s simply a fun and easy way to let your friends in on what you’re doing, at that exact moment in time – to share brief, impermanent communications from everyday life. Poke is in the early stages of its life, so we don’t really have any hard figures on its adoption. The NY Times’ Bits blog ran a piece calling it a “head-scratcher,” and the author claimed the in his unscientific determination, only 31 of his 500+ friends were currently using the app.

    Out of my 600+ friends, only one is currently using Poke.

    Nevertheless, Facebook is celebrating its launch. Do you think Poke will find a place among messengers?

  • New Facebook App: Spank A Friend

    New Facebook App: Spank A Friend

    When’s the last time you poked one of your friends? Before your mind starts to run rampant, I’m referring to a Facebook Poke. I’m sure most of you, like myself, have tried to figure out what the benefit of poking really is? Our findings: it’s actually kind of pointless. I mean, what if the essence of poking was tweaked slightly, and turned into a quasi-game?

    Let me introduce you to Spank A Friend, a brand new app for Facebook that allows you to spank your friends, while keeping point tallies for various actions. Sound interesting? Well, we think it is.

    Spank A Friend!

    It’s easy to use as well, upon authorization you’re greeted with two options: Choose a Friend and Spank Bank. I believe the first is pretty self-explanatory. Now the Spank Bank sounds comical, but essentially it’s the leaderboard for the app. You can see how your spanking stacks up against your friends and users from around the world.

    UPDATE: While talking with the developers of Spank A Friend, they informed me that they’re currently working on custom spanks. One of the spanks that is currently in development is the Birthday Spank. Currently, there is no completion date for the addition… but I’m sure it’ll be soon.

    It’s a spank or be spanked world, how will you stand up to the challenge?