The Universally Loved (Or Is It Hated?) Bitstrips Comic App Bags $3 Million Investment
Bitstrips, the Toronto-based startup behind those inescapable do-it-yourself avatars and comic strips on Facebook, has secured $3 million in funding from Hong Kong venture capital firm Horizons Ventures.
By Sadho Ram — 27 Oct 2013, 01:50 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
Bitstrips acquires a $3 million Series A investment from venture capital firm Horizons Ventures
Bitstrips has taken over Facebook News Feeds since its mobile app launch in October, and our very own Dusten Carlson even wrote about how to hide the comics.
While many users have become annoyed, the creators have three million new reasons to plot further World domination.
socialnewsdaily.com
According to TechCrunch, Bitstrips has received $3 million in Series A funding from Horizons Ventures.
CEO Jacob Blackstock says the investment will help the company to expand worldwide since it’s currently only available in English.
techcrunch.com
The money will be used to build out the product and the Bitstrips team, which is currently 17 members strong. CEO Jacob Blackstock, a.k.a. "BA," hopes to grow that number to 25 "in the next few months."
That employee growth seems necessary given Bitstrips' user growth. After launching the Bitstrips iOS app on Oct. 1, users created more than 30 million avatars in a two-month stretch, Blackstock said, bringing the total number of Bitstrips avatars to well over 40 million.
mashable.com
Here's explaining those highly addictive 'comic strips' that are popping up on your Facebook news feed..
It's the latest app to take the smartphone by storm and you might have noticed that it's brought a touch of colour to your Facebook news feed.
dailymail.co.ukThe app isn't exactly new -- the company launched its Facebook app in December 2012 -- but it just released its iPhone app at the end of September and updated it earlier this week, along with its Android app. And Bitstrips seems to be catching on.
go.com
Bitstrips allows users to turn themselves into a cartoon alter-ego and amuse (or perhaps annoy) their friends in the form of a digital comic strip.
refinery29.comBut if you're already getting fed up your Facebook friends' attempts at cartoon humour, things are only going to get worse.
dailymail.co.uk
A new, updated version of the app was released earlier this week - with more than 1,000 different cartoon templates to choose from.
firstcoastnews.comA staggering number of more than 11 million users have downloaded the Bitstrips app which creates a Facebook cartoon avatar of yourself
Since its initial launch, the app has been downloaded a staggering 11million times and many people are seeing it as the new way to post a Facebook status.
Users create an avatar that resembles themselves and their friends - choosing different hairstyles and fashions to match their own.
App Data, a website that tracks app downloads, today listed BitStrips as the top downloaded app in Apple's App Store and in the Google Play Android store.
firstcoastnews.comOne of the aspects that seems to make the service so addicting is that there are more than 1,000 comic templates, and the company adds new ones every day. Good luck trying to pick the perfect scene to match what you want to say.
go.comHere's how to use the app. Just get into the app (you'll be directed to sign in with Facebook) and start building your character:
It will take you through about twenty steps, from choosing the shape of your jaw to your eye color. You can even choose glasses frames and whether or not you have freckles on your face.
businessinsider.in
Then, choose your scenario. There are over 10,000 options.
Once you pick one, you can finalize your cartoon. Then it will give you the option to share it on your Facebook newsfeed!
yahoo.com
But a growing number of Facebook users are finding them highly annoying, and if you’re reading this, chances are, you may not like them either.
Bitstrips has only recently exploded in popularity, but is already just as annoying as classically irritating apps such as Farmville, Candy Crush Saga, Vine, and Instagram, sources say.
guardianlv.com
In a market already choked with soul-numbingly annoying applications for social networks and mobile devices, such a rapid ascent into widespread frustration of others is considered remarkable.
dailymail.co.uk
From being a relatively unknown app only a year ago, Bitstrips has grown at an amazing and nauseating speed. Users already vomit forth over 300,000 comics a day onto the Facebook feeds of otherwise happy loved ones and acquaintances, many of whom have no idea how annoying their online friends are until being traumatized by the app’s easy sharing functionality.
guardianlv.com
So, like the curator of this story, if you too find them annoying, here's how you can stop the madness:
It's quite simple. Just follow these steps and you will be able to hide, stop, or block Bitstrips from taking over your feed on Facebook.
guardianlv.com
Just like that, Bitstrips will stop appearing in your Facebook feed and your comic woes will be over.
You can repeat this process for any application that you feel is taking up too much room in your feed.
hypable.com