Path 2.0: Another Photo Sharing Social App? Except one Little Difference…
By: Hillel Fuld
These days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to be a geek. Every flippin day, a new app comes out that TechCrunch swears is the next big thing. Whether it is an app like Stamped with former Googlers behind it, Kevin Rose’s Oink, an old school platform like Instagram, or the newest and hottest kid on the block, Path. Well to be precise, Path is not new, it is a year old, but Path 2.0 is new and it is a whole other animal.
I gotta be honest, when Path originally launched with the ability to share photos with up to 50 people, I did not get it. That was not going to take me away from apps like Instagram and the UI of Path didn’t do much for me. With Path 2.0, all that changed, and then some. I am loving this app!
Now, I know what you are thinking, “How is it different“? That is a super important question and before I answer it, let me explain why. Everyone is talking about the “social graph”, but something few people pay attention to is our “Attention graph”. I cannot remember who dubbed that term but it is a brilliant one.
There is only so much time in the day, and only a fraction of that time can be spent on apps or social platforms, believe it or not, people actually have other things to do. So, all these companies including Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Instagram, Path and hundreds more are competing. Yes, they all serve different needs but they are competing for your time, your attention, your eyeballs. They want you to spend more time in their app/platform, and they are always trying to add features and release new versions to bring you in.
Path – Share Life from Path on Vimeo.
So the question “How is this different” isn’t just what it seems. What is behind that question is “Why should I close Facebook right now, stop tweeting, Instagraming, and +1ing and start “Pathing”?
The answer is a lot more complicated than the question, but I will try to put my finger on it. Before I do that though, I have to emphasize, this is not a question of features. It is not a matter of which app is the most advanced or does the most things. It is about the experience, the concept, and the execution. Path, in my humble opinion trumps them all, including Facebook and even <gasp> Twitter. That is the one little difference I am referring to in the title. Path has the overall experience that all other platforms, at least mobile ones, lack.
Where do I start? Well first of all, I would really say that since we are talking about the experience and not a list of features, the best way to find out what I am talking about here is to… experience Path. Download it and try it. For those that want to understand why before downloading it, here goes.
Design
If there is one thing everyone agrees upon as far as Path 2.0 is concerned, it is that we have one stunning mobile app on our hands. Not kidding, this app is beautiful. The sharing options come up when you press the big + sign and they appear in a semi circle asking you what type of content you want to share. The options are a photo, video, location, music, text, and current status.
If you use the new iOS Facebook app, then you will be familiar with the whole sidebar concept in Path 2,0 that appears when you swipe right. Swiping left lets you add friends, and the options available in the sidebar include Home, Path, Activity, Settings, and Sign Out. Nothing more, nothing less. The app is so simple and intuitive, it is the UI Facebook should have offered in its mobile apps.
Of course, Facebook’s apps are far from simplistic, not to mention buggy, and for this reason and others, many have said, they believe Zuckerberg might actually buy Path. I can see that happening and it would be a smart move in my opinion.
Speed
In my experience, there is no social app out there that moves as fast as Path does. When the new Facebook came out, I praised it and liked it a lot. Until the sluggishness hit in. That app, along with many others including Echofon, and even Instagram move slowly. In the world of sharing and real time conversation, you snooze, you lose.
One thing Twitter has taught us is that people like instant gratification and a social or photo sharing app that stutters aint gonna cut it. This thing flies! Almost every function in Path 2.0 from snapping a photo, selecting a friend, or sharing on Facebook or Twitter is instant with close to zero delay. That is a pleasure.
Content Types
Yes, you can use Instagram to share filtered photos. You can use Facebook to share videos. You can use Twitter to share short thoughts. You can use Foursquare to share your location. Or… You can use Path to share them all.
Of course every one of those apps have competitors that do the same thing, but those are the leaders in that specific category. Not only can Path do all of that, but you can also share on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare from Path itself, so it is not really choosing one over the other, it is more like choosing one (Twitter) or choosing them all (Path).
Timeline
One of the unique factors of Path, and one that is emphasized in Path 2.0 is documenting the path of your life. Sound familiar? Ahem, Facebook Timeline. So Facebook announced the Timeline and to be honest, it is great. Except, it is not available to everyone yet, and it is not available on mobile.
My Customized Facebook Timeline Cover
Path’s concept is not much different than the Facebook Timeline, except is looks a whole lot better in my opinion, and it is on mobile. You can scroll through your own path, which is basically your life journal or you can view other people’s paths. It is a super simple concept that has been around forever and in Path 2.0 it is executed to near perfection!
There you have it, folks. Despite my initial sarcasm regarding yet another social network/photo sharing app, I am absolutely loving Path 2.0. Let’s put it this way, at 9:38 AM, I have already shared multiple items using the new app and a whopping zero pictures on Instagram, posts on Facebook, and well, ok, I tweeted a few times too…
