# Fish: a tap essay > Interactive tap essay exploring internet liking versus loving. (iPhone/iPad app by Robin Sloan.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fish-a-tap-essay/id510560804 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Robin Sloan](https://appshunter.io/developer/510560807) - Category: Books, Entertainment - Price: Free - Rating: 4.90/5 from 38 App Store ratings · 79 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 11.0 · 75 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2012-03-21 - Data updated: 2026-06-10 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fish-a-tap-essay/id510560804/reviews.md ## What is Fish? This is a short but heartfelt manifesto about the difference between liking something on the internet and loving something on the internet. It's also an experiment in a new format: a "tap essay," presenting its argument tap by tap, using typography, color, and a few surprises to make its case. The essay takes about ten minutes to read, maybe less if you're fast. It's perfect for a coffee break or a train ride. ## Key features - Interactive tap essay format - Explores internet liking vs. loving - Uses typography and color - Includes surprises - Short reading time ## Recent user reviews (10 of 79) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fish-a-tap-essay/id510560804/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Highly rewatchable *2024-08-15, version 2.0* This 10-min long “tap essay” explores the difference between liking content and loving it, through a story of examining a fish until transcendence. It’s free and immeasurably valuable. I’ve reflected upon it countless times over the last 10 years. ### 5/5 — Good words, like good food take time… *2022-12-17, version 2.0* While I might be biased, it would seem no one reads for content anymore. Instead, articles are scanned for confirmation of opinions. This essay takes a bit of work to enjoy. Challenge yourself; take a moment to enjoy pure communication. Much thanks to the author, Robin Sloan. ### 5/5 — Something pretty pure *2022-02-05, version 2.0* There’s very little like this on the App Store, or in the tech world at large. We had it with Wordle, for a short time, but we all knew it wasn’t going to last. Bravo Robin, this is wonderful. ### 5/5 — This is definitely worth downloading! *2020-01-27, version 2.0* Lel GG WP. XD ### 5/5 — I reread this every year *2019-08-05, version 2.0* At least once a year sonething reminds me of this. I think I have had a copy on my phone since it was first released in 2012 and I’m so glad it got updated to fit newer ios versions. I highly recommend this as a short but deeply thought-out piece to consider what we do with our time and attention in the high speed “internet age.” ### 5/5 — Here again *2019-01-16, version 2.0* I’ve downloaded this app today, again, after a couple of years after reading it for the first time. I guess I love it. Also, it’s great you included your little story at the end. It brings this to the present somehow. I totally recommend looking at your fish as a therapy. Thanks! ### 3/5 — Good insight but *2019-01-03, version 2.0* Updated version too long. Had the original which, as noted, stopped working. But I liked it better, quicker to the important point. Watched & shared it often. Any chance you might put up the original also? ### 5/5 — Beautiful little app *2018-08-08, version 2.0* This is a 2012 app refreshed for 2018. A short, thought provoking essay for today’s times. Enjoy! ### 5/5 — Reading is rereading *2017-06-03, version 1.1.2* This is so good, it could almost be called a new art form. Robin Sloan has taken the medium--a medium with which we are both plagued by and enamored with--and transformed it into a calling for a higher reality: to love is to return. We are inundated with trash, with ads, with godlike movies and books and articles and this is not the end, but the beginning. We will only be swamped with more and more media, more and more things begging is to buy, listen, watch. It's the choices that choke us. This app lifts you out of that, places you I'm a better place, and not only helps you learn, but helps you learn to learn. To love and redefine love. To look in your heart and find what you really return to. What is it? It isn't the next thing. It isn't everything. As Nabokov once said: "Reading is rereading." We are only going to really love something when we shut out that endless flow, look within. This is an app that not only reinforced what I thought, but redefined what it is that's driving us. The message is clear: when you're free to do everything, it's hard to choose anything. ### 5/5 — Love *2017-04-13, version 1.1.2* I love this app. I have returned to it once again. It is inspiring and leaves me feeling that I am on a path that is too hurried, too frenetic. Slow down. Look. Look. Return. Thanks, Robin! ## Frequently asked questions about Fish ### What is a 'tap essay'? A tap essay is a new format for presenting an argument or story. It uses a series of taps to reveal content, incorporating typography, color, and unexpected elements to engage the reader and make its case. ### What is the main topic of the essay? The essay explores the distinction between passively 'liking' something online and genuinely 'loving' something. It's a heartfelt manifesto on the nature of digital appreciation and connection. ### How long does it take to read? The essay is designed to be short, taking approximately ten minutes to read, or even less for faster readers. It's ideal for a brief break, like during a coffee break or a train ride. ### Is this app free to use? Yes, this application is completely free to use. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, allowing for an uninterrupted reading experience. ### What kind of experience can I expect? You can expect an engaging and thought-provoking experience. The tap essay format is designed to be interactive and visually interesting, using typography and color to enhance the message and surprise the reader. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.0 — 2018-06-20 This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon. Fish was originally released in 2012. This is a new edition, recovered and remastered, for 2018 and beyond. ### 1.1.2 — 2012-12-07 + Further Prandtl-Glauert drive tuning. ### 1.1.1 — 2012-11-28 + Added links to Tapestry, the new app that allows you to find and read more tap stories, and then make one yourself. + Fixed bug that would occasionally reverse the polarization of a user's Prandtl–Glauert drive. ### 1.1 — 2012-03-30 Tweet and reset buttons now work when phone is flipped over. ### 1.0 — 2012-03-21 No release notes. ## Apps similar to Fish | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [English Poetry and Poems](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/english-poetry-and-poems/id6469589467) | 3.0 (2) | Free | Books | | [Watsonville Library App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watsonville-library-app/id1659930451) | 4.8 (5) | Free | Books | | [Written: Read, Collect, Resell](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/written-read-collect-resell/id6745833402) | 2.3 (3) | Free | Books | | [MMD Book Club](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mmd-book-club/id1641459687) | 5.0 (7) | Free | Books | | [Shnayim: Mikra & Targum](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shnayim-mikra-and-targum/id1296709500) | 4.8 (201) | Free | Books | | [Oxford American](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oxford-american/id553037248) | 4.2 (10) | Free | Books | --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*