Flock is a new photo sharing app created for iOS by the same folks who brought us Bump, an app that lets devices share data and contact information by simply “bumping” phones together.

Flock’s most appealing feature is the way it works: as in, it does all of the heavy-lifting for you. The app use geo-caching to identify any photos between a group of friends that were taken in the same place, at the same time. The user simply snaps photos with any camera app on their phone and Flock will pool content between users, allowing each user to sign-off on photos that get posted up in group albums on various social media channels.

Is that it?

Oh no, the innovation doesn’t stop there; the app automatically determines which of your Facebook friends was with you when you took the picture, and it sends them a push notification allowing them to view the picture. Simply put, it sends the pictures for you. Less time staring into your phone = more time to actually live your life and hang out with your friends! No more album creation, tagging, etc… is this the future of photo sharing?!

All right, CMOs, marketing officers and community managers: what’s in it for your business?

Right now, Flock is strictly a consumer app and somewhat limited in what it can do. Flock isn’t as pervasive as Instagr.am, Fourquare or Yelp – but core concepts are similar. Flock encourages users to take photos, en masse, at local events, restaurants, concerts, parks and just about anywhere people gather. Everything is driven by a mobile & local engine. Flock is auto-curating visual references to your brand that you don’t control… unless you figure out a way to harness the collective energy of your patrons and help shape your story.

Review:

Save-worthiness: 4 out of 5

Once this app takes off, you can count on most of your “plugged in” friends to be Flock users. It’s just too cool to discard.

Ease of use: 4 out of 5

This app was created on the very premise of being easy to use. When they say that it makes something that you already do easier and gives you more time for your daily life, that just screams easy to use.

Average star rating: 5 out of 5

It seems that the tech world is really jumping on this ship, mainly because it takes something that almost everyone does and makes it much, much more simple. Flock is a great time saver and works for anyone who has gotten frustrated with the process of uploading, creating an album and tagging using the basic Facebook features. Flock was also created by a proven app developer, making its chances of success that much greater.

Article by: Grant Stewart, Summer 2012 Imagineer | grant.vpm@gmail.com