Facebook Ends Creative Labs Initiative and Shuts Down Slingshot, Rooms and Riff

[MacRumors]

Facebook today ended its Creative Labs project, which was designed to allow its engineers to come up with unique and innovative smartphone and tablet apps. With the shuttering of Creative Labs, several of the apps that came out of the program are being shut down and removed from the App Store.

Slingshot, Rooms, and Riff, all apps that were released across 2014 and 2015, are no longer available in the App Store. Slingshot, announced in June of 2014, was an ephemeral messaging app modeled after Snapchat, but with a slight twist. Before viewing a message or a photo, the recipient was required to send a message back.

Rooms, launched in October of 2014, allowed users to create anonymous invite-only chat rooms based around specific themes, while Riff, announced in April 2015, was designed to let users create collaborative video mashups with their friends.

Despite being backed by Facebook, none of the now-defunct apps managed to catch on with users and thus received a limited number of updates from the company. Riff, for example, was never updated since it was released in April, and Slingshot and Rooms were last updated in March and July of 2015, respectively.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the end of Creative Labs in a statement to CNET, noting none of the apps had been updated for some time and many of the features have been added into the company's primary apps. "Since their launches, we've incorporated elements of Slingshot, Riff and Rooms into the Facebook for iOS and Android apps."

While none of the apps are available for download, Slingshot continues to be functional for existing users for the time being, while Rooms will be available until it's closed on December 23.

Paper, the first and most successful app to come out of Facebook's Creative Labs effort, remains available in the App Store.

Article Link: Facebook Ends Creative Labs Initiative and Shuts Down Slingshot, Rooms and Riff

 

[okboy]

I remember trying to sign up for Slingshot. You needed to register through SMS confirmation. Why no Facebook login, I'm not sure. But the SMS never came. Tried over and over again for days. The app reviews were filled with complaints. You could not even use the app without this confirmation. I fear that killed any hype.

 

[LordQ]

And when is Facebook shutting down?

 

[pushingrobot]

Aaaand escalate an appendage if you thought this was about the sound card company.

 

[modemthug]

They really named it Creative Labs?

 

[okboy]

It goes to show how hard it is to create a popular social app, even, or maybe even especially for a larger company. And how hard it is in general for one company with one popular product to make another one. Microsoft made Windows but what else? Google made Search but how Plus going? Apple made the Mac but... then only made a dozen enormously successful products.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Do these people at Facebook not realize how Facebook started and why it ended up being successful?

Facebook started out as a hyperfocused product for only Harvard students. It was perfectly tailored for them with their class schedules, ways with talking with classmates and teachers, seeing things happening on campus, etc. It was an indispensable tool for many at Harvard.

After a year of cementing itself at Harvard, they spread out to other Ivy schools. They lost some of the special, just for Harvard features, but they kept enough that most students from Harvard stayed on and told friends at other Ivy schools to join.

Then they spread to other colleges.

Then they spread to high schools and work places.

Then they threw open the doors and let everyone 13 and older join.

This is a classic class case study for how successful products are made. You start with a hyperfocused group of users where everything is perfectly tailored for them, and then gradually increase pace as you broaden your scope.

Slingshot, and most of their other products, flopped because they didn't have anyone they were targeting. They weren't tailor made to solve any particular problems, so nobody picked them up. Same with Google Plus. Same with so many other failed products.

 

[TMRJIJ]

I don't even know what these apps were but they sound like they suck. Nice Creative Labs team, FaceBook. You should shut down along with them.

 

[sniffies]

Snapchat's value's just shot through the roof.

Just goes to show that money can't by creativity. Chew on that, Facebook.

 

[garirry]

Sweet, now we just need Facebook to become as simple as Twitter and remove all the mess around it and then I'm happy.

 

[C DM]

I don't even know what these apps were but they sound like they suck. Nice Creative Labs team, FaceBook. You should shut down along with them.

Ah, so things you don't know about or don't care for must be worthless and shouldn't be there...I guess that explains all kinds of things you likely don't know about or care about that many people have been using and liking.

 

[konqerror]

Slingshot, and most of their other products, flopped because they didn't have anyone they were targeting. They weren't tailor made to solve any particular problems, so nobody picked them up. Same with Google Plus. Same with so many other failed products.

Slingshot targeted Snapchat.
Rooms targeted textPlus and some other similar apps.
Riff targeted Vine.
Google Plus targeted Facebook.

See a trend here? The problem they solved is their owners missed the boat on some social app and felt they needed to catch up.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Ah, so things you don't know about or don't care for must be worthless and shouldn't be there...I guess that explains all kinds of things you likely don't know about or care about that many people have been using and liking.

You completely misinterpreted my post. . . or I forgot to add an emoticon implying that is was a joke but either way this was just a funny opinionated joke on how I think about some of Facebook's apps and if this upsets you, I apologize.
If it is worth something to you then I hope you can find a good alternative just like these apps

 

[Alenore]

And when is Facebook shutting down?

When no one will be talking about it anymore.
Including you.

It goes to show how hard it is to create a popular social app, even, or maybe even especially for a larger company. And how hard it is in general for one company with one popular product to make another one. Microsoft made Windows but what else? Google made Search but how Plus going? Apple made the Mac but... then only made a dozen enormously successful products.

Microsoft made Office and the Xbox
Google made Maps, Gmail, Android, Now, Google Docs, ...

 

[C DM]

You completely misinterpreted my post. . . or I forgot to add an emoticon implying that is was a joke but either way this was just a funny opinion and if this upsets you, I apologize.
If it is worth something to you then I hope you can find a good alternative just like these apps.

Mine was similarly a funny opinion as well.

 

[2457282]

And when is Facebook shutting down?

Just came here to ask the same thing. lol you beat me to it.

 

[Rafagon]

WTF are/were Slingshot, Rooms and Riff??

 

[C DM]

WTF are/were Slingshot, Rooms and Riff??

Seems like the article covers that to some degree.

 

[ILikeAllOS]

Holy crap! First Dropbox is shutting down 2 services, now Facebook is shutting down 3 services/apps and their creative labs initiative! What next, G+ is shutting down?
Not that I'm complaining, it's just interesting that both companies announce this on the same day, as if there's a memo going through silicon valley.

 

[APlotdevice]

Holy crap! First Dropbox is shutting down 2 services, now Facebook is shutting down 3 services/apps and their creative labs initiative! What next, G+ is shutting down?
Not that I'm complaining, it's just interesting that both companies announce this on the same day, as if there's a memo going through silicon valley.

Well Google has already made it so G+ is no longer required to comment on Youtube. (though you still need it to receive reply notifications)

 

[jshell]

Holy crap! First Dropbox is shutting down 2 services, now Facebook is shutting down 3 services/apps and their creative labs initiative! What next, G+ is shutting down?
Not that I'm complaining, it's just interesting that both companies announce this on the same day, as if there's a memo going through silicon valley.

Sounds like Tech sector is bracing for a recession.

 

[Michael Goff]

Facebook made them, so they were obviously bad.

Am I cool now?

 

[okboy]

When no one will be talking about it anymore.
Including you.


Microsoft made Office and the Xbox
Google made Maps, Gmail, Android, Now, Google Docs, ...

Well not to split hairs but... Google bought Android. And Microsoft's Xbox has been a money loser every generation and is now being outsold 2-to-1.

 

[acctman]

Some old CEO that does not full understand tech and innovation, most likely made that decision.

 

[Alenore]

Well not to split hairs but... Google bought Android. And Microsoft's Xbox has been a money loser every generation and is now being outsold 2-to-1.

And what's your point ? Apple bought stuff too, to make their products, OS X marketshare is still lower than windows, and it's pretty much equal between android and iOS.
If acquisitions didn't come into account, you wouldn't say much of what Apple released (or any other company for that matter) was made by them.