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In the fight for the domination of the social media space, in order to keep up, one must constantly reinvent themselves, and Facebook is not going down without throwing some punches. Their latest effort? Paper. 

The company announced Paper on Thursday, a standalone news reader mobile app that has reportedly been in the works for years. According to reports, the app was created by a 15-person team as part of a broader company initiative known as Facebook Creative Labs.

The launch of the newsreader app may have come at just the right time, with many looking to fill a void left in their online life with the departure of Google Reader.

Mashable reports more on the new app:

The new app will surface content from 19 different “sections,” including sports, tech, pop culture, and “LOL.” The app also has a “Newsfeed” section, which is the same News Feed users are accustomed to on the native apps, but with a new design.

Each section will have a rotating carousel of images across the top, and individual cards and stories below that image. The new app was specifically designed to look different than the native apps, and has larger images and content cards without the typical blue trim present on Facebook’s native apps.

Users will be able to select which sections they wish to subscribe to, and all content will be curated through a process that includes an algorithm and a human selection. For now, sections will not be personalized. For example, a user in San Francisco will see the same items in his sports section as a user in Chicago, although personalization could be added in the future.

Paper is schedule to hit the App Store on Monday, February 3, but will only be available to iPhone users at launch.

SOURCE: Mashable