Paper: The Next Generation of Facebook Mobile
Facebook recently launched its mobile newsreader, Paper (currently only available for iOs). Facebook says that it intends to see users enjoy their personalized newspaper through this mobile app. Paper has the features of Facebook, a news aggregator with a Flipboard-style layout and social integration with the stories that interest you. Plus, you can search Facebook, read your messages and browse the latest newsfeeds of topics you like such as Headlines, Sports, and Celebrities.
Paper doesn’t just help users discover news on dozens of topics; it is reinventing how people use Facebook. Through the app, you have access to your newsfeed, messages, notifications and can search Facebook like you would through the current app. Some observers consider Paper though a complete overhaul of the way people will use Facebook on their mobile devices though thanks to the apps beautiful user interface and ability to integrate social sharing into your stories.
How Paper Works:
- Download Paper through the iTunes App Store and launch it on your mobile app.
- You will see a fun welcome video that orients you about the app.
- You will hear voice tips in your every move.
- Choose sections/categories. There are series of sections in your Facebook news feed. There are also 19 sections that you can choose from such as: Cooking, Entertainment, Sports, and Technology
- Explore Paper. With Paper you can see updates from your Facebook friends on the top half of your screen, read the News Feed at the bottom half, and you can swipe these news feeds located in rectangular panels from left to right
Commonly Asked Questions
What if you like a link?
Simply swipe up to open that page. If you want to go back to the newsfeed, just swipe down.
What if you want to check out photos?
Just tilt your phone right or left. Or, you can turn your phone to landscape view for larger images.
Where do you check out notifications, friend requests and messages?
These are located in the upper right of your mobile screen.
What’s in the main feed?
You can swipe it down to do the following:
– Access your Facebook profile
– Edit sections
– Update your settings
– Update your status/Create a post
What’s in the upper right of the screen?
It’s where you check out:
– Notifications
– Messages
– Friend Requests
Source: Papercrunch
How Paper Will Benefit Businesses
While there are currently no ads on Paper, the main goal of this mobile app is to keep the users deeply engaged in the app. Increasing mobile users means increasing audience size. This then opens the door for more ads and the ability to demand higher advertising rates.
Once the users are deeply hooked to Paper, businesses can reach many potential patrons. Thus, businesses can:
1) Share press releases, stories and latest updates to more people
2) Garner more followers
3) Receive more customer feedback
4) Get more referrals from satisfied customers
Limitations
Unlike Facebook app, there are limits to what Paper users can update. The app will not let you update profile photos or cover photos.
While many are comparing it to Flipboard, they are not identical and do not share the same interface or APIs with news aggregators. Plus, it does not offer you the ability to create your own sections like Flipboard encourages, so users are stuck to the predetermined categories and source providers that Paper has already established relationship with.
Opportunity For Advertisers
As the number of Paper user increase, the number of potential consumers also increases. Danny Sullivan, the founding editor of Marketing Land said that Paper can be addictive, especially for people like himself who wants to read the news instead of depending on TV for full stories or Twitter for quick news blasts. Currently, there are no opportunities to run ads on Paper, but with increased users and Facebook’s notoriety of pushing businesses to pay in order to reach their audience, it is only a matter of time until ads come to Paper.
If Paper becomes popular with users, some spectators believe that it can replace the Facebook app. When it happens, Paper can be a promising advertising medium. We can expect to see targeted ads based on user demographics as well as how they use the app, what sections they subscribe to, and how they share the articles with their Facebook friends. We will keep you posted on how the app progresses and alert you when advertising becomes available to the public.
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