Facebook released a new meme-making feature, Whale, The Knowledge Reports, quietly last week. The app is currently available only on the Canadian App Store, where its listing shows that it can be used to edit your own photos or pictures from a stock photo library. Through social media platforms such as Instagram and Messenger, you can then post your creations.
You first pick a picture you want to use as your model to use Whale-either your own or from the stock collection. To transform your image into a meme, you can then add text, emojis, and filters. You can then save and post the photo directly from the app on different social networks.
The usability is quite simple, but it can act as a means of helping more people get involved in meme trends. When Whale provides the latest meme templates and simple ways for users to add their twist, this could be useful, and popularity among younger user groups could be gained.
The listing of the app reveals that it was created by the New Product Experimentation (NPE) team from Facebook, which was set up earlier this year to develop new technological technologies for the giant of social media. At the time, Facebook said it used the separate brand name to set the expectation that its apps might change rapidly, or even shut down if the company finds it is not useful to people.
The emergence of TikTok was not without criticism. Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook raised concerns about the Chinese government’s censorship of criticism by the web.
The ties between TikTok operator ByteDance and Beijing are also being investigated by US lawmakers.
Whale joins a long list of innovative software that Facebook has either introduced or acquired over the years, including Moments, Notify, Lifestage, Poke, Slingshot, Tbh, Moves, and Hello. Given the track record of Facebook, we would advise that you do not become too attached to your new project.
