Slingshot — Facebook's new ephemeral photo/video app

Taptalk is still easier, one click sends and no games of having to send before receiving. Slingshot also seems a _little_ too overdesigned.

I know this has been posted before, but it's now actually available.

@daveambrose was quick on the trigger to hunt this when Facebook (intentionally?) leaked this on the App Store last week. Downloading it now...

While clearly inspired by Taptalk, for me it seems to miss some of the simplicity. For example, not having a preview feature in taptalk enables a much faster, lower bar share.

Been waiting for a text message to confirm my number for a few mins.... I think they're getting hammered.

The UX is all over the map. Taptalk is def more simple, but I will say that Taptalk is maybe a bit too simple. The onboarding experience is pretty tough for new users. Everyone who signs up for the first time, sends a misfire message b/c they don't understand that when you release, the photo/video is on its way to the recipient.

My question here: Is f(Social density + utility/enjoyment) ___ Pain of learning new UX? A) > B) < Side note: this crush of upvotes right now is giving great insight into the value of recency in the ranking algorithm on PH...right, @rrhoover?

My first sling: The Mario Paint music while doodling is an interesting choice.

@ _Hanks_ exactly. Before we used to rank all products by total number of upvotes, giving products posted early in the day a huge advantage. We're still playing with the algo but it's much better now, imho.

Not available in Canada

@rrhoover Guard it like the App Store guards chart rankings.

I really like the website. I'll try it as soon as it becomes available on the French App Store.

Only US App Store :( I don't get this strategy, they're g*ddamn Facebook - Scale baby scale!

I wonder if non-US users would be able to use http://www.producthunt.com/posts... to get access?

This app is a mess. The UX is crazy. Some places where triggers should be ("you have a new message from X, but you need to send X a message first") doesn't trigger you to send X a message. It actually does nothing. You have to go, take a photo, and then send it to X to see it. I love the onboarding. So simple. But overall using the app is a mess.

Slingshot isn’t overly complicated, you just have to learn how to use it, like when you launched Snapchat or Taptalk for the first time. Yet, Slingshot will probably fail because it's like Snapchat but 1) you have to re-learn how to use it, 2) your friends don't use it. There is no reward.

After all the rumours I expected a more close resemblance. Taptalk and Slingshot have little in common. Actually this article by Shane highlights some of the important differences: https://medium.com/@shanemac/tap...

@mulligan - I definitely agree the UX is a little clumsy but so is Snapchat's. The key is getting users over that "hump" where they get it and grow accustomed to its idiosyncrasies. That said, I need to play with it a bit more to have a stronger opinion. Here are some interesting design decisions and observations: - Doodle music - love it or hate it, the music when you doodle accomplishes two things (1) sets a playful, silly tone and (2) might inspire WOM (the "mario paint music" grabs attention). - "Locked" photos - to view a photo from a friend for the first time, you must send them a photo in exchange. While this adds friction to use the product, my hunch is that it increases engagement in aggregate. - Inviting people - Users can invite people via SMS but not Facebook. - "Just for you" - When a friend sends you a photo directly (and not to several people), it tells you it was "just for you." I like this. This is one of my complaints with Snapchat in that unless your friend mentions your name or makes it obvious, it's unclear how thoughtful they were in choosing to send that photo to me because of the one-to-many. On the other hand, it makes one-to-one flirting more obvious. ;) - "Hidden People" - I've had a few weirdos send me snaps on Snapchat before and I haven't taken the time to figure out how to block them. Thankfully you can hide people on Slingshot. P.S. I forgot to plug my username earlier: rrhoover (sling me!) P.P.S. Curious to hear @ogtfaber's (from Taptalk) thoughts on this.

Odd that I had to send my first sling to their team. I suspect this gets easier over time, but the whole "reply before you read" thing makes it hard to have an actual conversation (but maybe that's not what this is about?)

@mark__a didn't work on Mac or iOS :( cool tool though! :)