PicFlic
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| Original author(s) |
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| Developer(s) | PicFlic Inc. |
| Initial release | March 2012 |
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| License | Propietary software |
| Website | www |
PicFlic is a Meronnian multimedia messaging and sharing app developed by PicFlic Inc. One of the principal features of PicFlic is that pictures and messages are only available for a short period of time. The app was originally developed with a focus on person-to-person photo sharing, since the app has added various features including "Stories" of 24 hours of content and "Boards" where users can post media to be viewed indefinitely. It has become known for introducing a new, mobile-specific direction for social media. The app's targeted audience is teens and young adults but has expanded to include businesses, politicians and other social media influencers. PicFlic was created by Merronians Dylan Gérin-Lajoie, Henry D'Aboville, and Storsnian Huugo Härmälä.
History
In late 2011 École Supérieure d'Ingénierie students Dylan Gérin-Lajoie, Henry D'Aboville and Huugo Härmälä began working on a mobile application designed to communicate "the full range of human emotions in messaging". The three students had attended the same software development courses the previous year and had developed a budding friendship. In December 2011 the three students dropped out in order to persue their developments full-time. In January 2012 the trio developed a prototype and released it to a group of former fellow students seeking feedback from their peers. Following further development the group publicaly released PicFlic in March 2012.
PicFlic say near instant success in Meronnia before being released internationally in July 2012. By December 2012 more than 22 photos were being sent per second and users had shared over one billion photos on PicFlic.
In October 2013 an updated was introduced adding various features to PicFlic including in-app profiles, geofilters, and stories. This version also brought several speed enhancements, design improvements and greater stability to the app.
PicFlic announced a redisign in March 2017 for the apps five year anniversary. Alongside the redisgn boards were announced which would be a place for users to post photos and videos to be displayed permanent on their profile. The redisgn was meet with harsh criticism by many users, but was praised by business insiders. This redesign resulted in many companies and politicians createing their own boards to market to the younger generation. This meant that sponsered ads began appearing in the app making PicFlic more profitable. In Febraury 2018 livestreams were introduced.
Features
Messaging
PicFlic is primarily used to create multimedia messages refered to as "Flics", flics either consist of a photo or short video, and can be edited with filters, animated stickers, and text captions. Flics can be sent to other users privately or posted to a semi-private "Story". Flics can only be viewed once when sent to other users via messages and can only be viewed for 24 hours after being posted on a story. Users are also able to directly message other users. These ephemeral messages can only be read once like flics unless they are saved by the sender or reciever.
Stories
"Stories" were added to PicFlic in an October 2013 update allowing users to post Flics to chronological storylines that can be viewed by friends for 24 hours after posting. After the addition of "boards" in 2017 users are able to post flics to "Friends Only Stories" and "Board Stories". Board stories can be viewed by both followers and non-followers alike. In 2018 "Live Stories" were introduced allowing users to livestream to followers and friends. Controversially stories have frequently been used to document and publicize controversial events around the world including the 2020 Ackesian Presidential Election Riots and the Malstrecigano Civil Unrest.
Boards
After the March 2017 redesign "Boards" were added to PicFlic. Boards act as a users public profile and can be followed by other users. Users can post pictures and videos on their boards which can be viewed and "liked" by followers. Unlike stories board posts do not disappear after 24 hours. Businesses and politicans alike have used boards to advertise products and political campaigns. Boards can become "verified" by PicFlic showing that the board is the official board of that user. With the introduction of boards some users have grown to celebrity status becoming social media "influencers". Examples of influencers include René Alard, and Anatoli Istatri