Facebook just launched an app to make memes: Details here
What's the story
From Twitter to Snapchat, the entire social media scene is driven by the culture of viral and funny memes. These memes have been around for a long time. But now, it appears that Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, wants to own a piece of this pie too - with a dedicated meme-maker called Whale. Here's all you need to know about it.
Launch
Whale's soft launch on Canada's App Store
Though Facebook didn't announce the launch of Whale, the folks at The Information did spot the app on the Canadian App Store. They said the app debuted last week under the umbrella of Facebook's New Product Experimentation team - formed to develop experimental apps - and offers tools to transform your own photos or stock images into a series of funny memes.
Features
What you get inside Whale app?
As per The Information, Whale lets you edit your own photos or stock images with a series of supposedly viral combinations of text, emojis, and filters. The app also provides several grid layouts as well as a freeform drawing tool to showcase your creativity. Once your work is done, it lets you share your creations directly on platforms like Messenger and Instagram.
Goal
NPE apps are designed to broaden Facebook's product base
To recall, Facebook had set up the NPE team a few months ago with the goal of developing new features and services that people may like. Currently, along with Whale, the line-up of NPE apps includes two other products targeted at youngsters: Bump, a chat app to connect strangers over simple questions, and a group-listening app called Aux.
India launch
Will this app come to India?
When Facebook launched NPE, it had said that the apps could change rapidly, or even shut down if the company finds they are not useful for people. Now, this means that if this app fails to take off in the test market, the social network may not move ahead with its broader launch or kill it completely, like how it did with Slingshot.