Today photo sharing app Tracks has announced version 2.0 of its website. New features include the ability to create photo tracks via the web.
In other words, Tracks just opened itself up to the world wide web, allowing anyone with access to the internet to participate on the image-based social network (rather than those with smartphones… and the app).
The aesthetic qualities of the new UI are excellent, that goes without saying. It is, after all, a photo sharing app.
The site integrates with social networks like Flickr, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram, as well as storage spaces like the local drive and Dropbox. After inviting friends, users can participate in shared photo tracks under a certain category, for a particular experience, etc. on the comfort of a big screen.
Once you’re working on a Track with other friends or family, you’ll also have a real-time activity feed as pictures get added.
However, the addition of features called Magic Tracks, which automatically form Tracks based on connections and activities, and Joinable Tracks, which lets users join tracks based on certain interests like Fashion or Live Music.
This kind of goes against Tracks’ most powerful and competitive feature so far: invites. At the same time, Magic Tracks will never be public, and will only include people relevant and connected to you on your social networks.
For a long while, Tracks competed almost directly with Color, before Color was a complete bust. It differentiated by making sure the people you’re sharing with are people you know, rather than people in the same area. Randomly.
With the new discoverability factor, Tracks adds a more social aspect to the product, but also opens itself up to a “random” world for the very first time.
In terms of competition these days (now that Color is essentially gone), Tracks has to contend with the big dog, Instagram. The big advantage of Tracks versus Facebook’s $1 billion photo sharing service has always been its seamless online profiles.
Instagram has stepped up to the plate recently, and now Tracks has upped the ante with the ability to create Tracks via web.