Even though I get my share of social networking through Facebook and Twitter, I understand the need for smaller niche social networks. I could even see joining some myself. Sometimes you just need a little more privacy or an emphasis on specific features. But while I understand that need, I don’t quite understand what niche DailyBooth fills.
DailyBooth is essentially a social networking app without a filter. You can view the app without ever signing-up. What you’ll see before you sign-up is a steady stream of photobooth screenshots. Some will have captions, others won’t. If you register you’d be able to comment on the photos. But you can’t decide what you can or can’t see. Thinking I was just getting a random flood of people because I hadn’t registered yet, I signed-up without a problem.
The odd feed of strangers never stopped. As long as you’re using the app, you’re liable to get a new picture every minute or two. Even after signing up, users don’t receive any more control over the photos scrolling through their feed. Similarly, you can’t seem to set your photos to “friends only” or anything like that.
Using DailyBooth is like getting a live feed of a photobooth sent directly to your phone. While this laissez-faire voyeurism might be enjoyable for some, it seems like a flimsy ideal on which to build a social network.
If there’s anything good to say about DailyBooth, it’s that it has a timer feature for taking photos that is sorely missing on the iPhone camera. The countdown timer only runs for three seconds, but it’s a smart feature that really should be an option in all apps that have users taking photos.
Unless you’re dying to share your world, one picture at a time, with a bunch of strangers, DailyBooth completely misses the boat. For all the griping that people do about Facebook security, I can’t imagine their reaction to this app.
