Attention, hipsters: you can now take your poetry slams mobile. (Do hipsters still like poetry slams? I don’t know). Anyway, there’s a new iPhone app called Opuss, which describes itself as an “Instagram for words.” But to be clear, it doesn’t have to be just for poetry. It can also be used to save and share beloved quotes, jokes, recipes, reviews, stories or anything else you feel the need to write…but not tweet.
Opuss is a darned pretty app, I have to admit, even though I’m not completely sold on the concept. CTO Adam Neilson says the app is meant to be sort of a grown up Twitter, but the first entry I saw upon opening the app was a bit more juvenile.
For your amusement, the poem was called “Glow Worm.”
Here’s how it goes:
I wish I were a glow worm
A glow worm’s never glum,
‘Cause how can you be grumpy,
when the sun shines out your bum?
(credit: loz)
OK. Um. Yeah.
That being said, it would be nice to read some higher-quality poetry in here (sorry, loz), because the app itself looks great. I can see how it would be fun to use.
After you download and install Opuss, the app briefly walks you through how to use its buttons and features. Usually, I find “walk-throughs” annoying and in the way (my philosophy: if your app needs an explainer, you need to start over), but for some reason I found myself actually reading the Opuss tutorial. You swipe through each screen as the button being described lights up at the bottom. There are even iPhone homescreen-esque dots at the bottom indicating your current page and position.
A decent tutorial seems like such a simple thing, but it’s not. I’ve seen some serious disasters involving what appear to be hand-drawn circles and handwritten notes describing an app’s elements. So cheers, Opuss, on that.
Using the app is pretty straightforward, too. You can view the feed, filter by category, follow others, comment, like and share.
I don’t get the app’s cat theme – paw prints, collars, and kitty icons fill Opuss. (Oh, puss?) Update: Oooh, opus. Opuss. OK. Heh. And I’m not sure of the stickiness factor of an app for following and favoriting people’s words in the age of Twitter. But this app looks good, which is all the more impressive given the company’s lack of funding.
Opuss is the product of Seamonster Ltd., a London-based outfit staffed by Adam Neilson, former Probability CTO, now Seamonster CTO (and Interim CEO), Technical Director and Co-founder Jeff Hodnett and Creative Director Chris Knight.
You can try it for yourself from here.
