If you have been browsing your Facebook lately, you may have noticed things getting a little cartoony. A new app called Bitstrips has been gaining popularity and filling our feeds with comic panels featuring simplistic renderings of our friends in ridiculous, sometimes humorous (sometimes not) situations.
Bitstrips has actually been around for almost a year as a Facebook app but it was not until last month that it was released as a mobile application for iOS and Android. While there is no way to use the app without a Facebook account, they have plans to solve this inconvenience soon.
To begin, once logged in, the user can design their avatar, with many levels of customization making it surprisingly easy to get a solid likeness. Select an outfit and you can start to place yourself and your friends in literally thousands of settings and whatever pose you can imagine. Add some text underneath, post it on your timeline and your friends can be the judge of whether or not you've got the chops to be the next Bill Watterson.
While there may be an initial appeal to Bitstrips, don't expect it to be a permanent addition to the ever-changing Facebook. For every comic you see popping up, you'll most likely find a snarky status bashing its existence. So far, it's been rare to find someone who can really enhance their creativity and wit through these strips but there's no denying the novelty of seeing how accurate your friends can recreate themselves.
In addition to having those that aren't fans of the concept, many users have cited both the Facebook and mobile apps as being buggy and temperamental. A couple more updates, though, and you'll most likely be seeing a surge of these. Just as with all Facebook apps, it won't be too long until these strips go the way of Family Feud, Farmville and Vampire Wars.
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