Facebook closes the doors on its Creative Labs

Facebook's Slingshot is one of the app's getting the boot.

You might not be familiar with Facebook’s Creative Labs but that team’s been responsible for introducing the social network’s standalone apps like Slingshot, Rooms, and Riff. All of these together with said team have been shut down. The three Creative Labs apps have been pulled from iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Slingshot was Facebook’s Snapchat-like service; Riff was for “riffing” on viral videos; and Rooms was the company’s anonymous chatroom app. Users who already have the apps can still use it. Those who use Rooms can continue to do so until December 23^rd. There’s no final posting day set yet for Slingshot or Riff.

Even though Facebook is disbanding its Creative Labs division, some of the features developed by the team are being integrated into Facebook’s main app. For example, Paper, a Creative Labs’ creation, is being used as an inspiration for the look of Facebook’s Instant Articles project. This goes to show that while Facebook is a successful social network, it doesn’t mean all their projects meet the same level of success as the others.

Source: MacWorld

Facebook's answer to Snapchat, the Slingshot App now available globally

Facebook announced that its new Creative Labs app, Slingshot, is available internationally.  Slingshot lets users quickly share moments—little and big—with lots of people at once. It’s a new kind of feed where everyone is a creator. You start by shooting a photo or video of what you're up to and then sling it to a bunch of friends. Friends won’t be able to see your shot in their feed until they sling something to you. Will this new functionality catch on? Only time will tell, Facebook seems to think that this is how many users prefer to communicate.

Check out http://www.sling.me/ and the Slingshot team’s blog for more information.  Slingshot in available in English on iPhone (iOS7) and Android (Jelly Bean and KitKat).