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Facebook Experimentation Team Launches New app for Hobbyists
Rebecca Appleton • 14 February 2020
Platform experiments with new app
We’re used to thinking about Facebook in app terms – after all, it was responsible for many of the most downloaded apps of last year – but, the platform is also synonymous with social media.
Earlier this week, it launched a new (non Facebook branded) app which could be a sign that we’re going to see more and more new launches from the Facebook team through the year.
The new app, which debuted Wednesday on the App Store is called Hobbi. It is designed to give users a space to organise their hobby-related images, such as crafting, cooking or art. It has already been compared to Pinterest – that site uses boards to organise images, with users able to post their own images and Pin pics from around the web into themed boards of their creation.
Unlike Pinterest, Hobbi is specifically for the user’s own photos of their own hobbies, rather than a repository for images found elsewhere.
The user uploads their pics directly from their iPhone’s camera roll and from there, can then use Hobbi to share their images with connections. Hobbi also allows app users to turn their images into video montages. Another notable feature of Hobbi which differentiates it from Pinterest is it encourages users to upload their photos as they progress on a project, so it becomes a highlights reel for that person.
Hobbi images can then be shared on other social media platforms. Users can also choose which friends they want to connect with and then chat with them via the app.
Although it was released in 84 countries on Wednesday of this week, the app hasn’t yet reached a massive audience – at the time of writing CNET is reporting that it has received fewer than 5000 downloads and the App Store profile says not enough comments and reviews have been left to generate a rating.
What’s interesting about the Hobbi launch is that the app is a slight departure from strictly social media and was developed by an internal team at Facebook formed in July – the New Product Experimentation Team. It is tasked with experimentation of new products and services and has the power to launch, amend and shutter its products.
The team has so far launched three other apps, some limited to just the Canadian market.
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