Fed up with Facebook? Sick of Snapchat? Luckily for you there’s a new kid on the block ‘Peach.cool’, or just Peach to its friends, created by the founder of Vine, Dom Hofmann.
Peach is a social platform and social messaging app at the same time, almost as though it’s borrowed features from most of the social networking sites. This hybrid of Instagram and Snapchat allows the user to add friends and share what you’re up to in a mix of image and text.
The user’s home screen activity is similar to the Facebook wall and friends can like, comment and leave notifications as options such as a ‘cake’ or a ‘wave’.
As with Snapchat the posts disappear, after 48 hours though rather than 24, encouraging users to keep checking the app to keep up with what pals are posting. The ‘Magic Words’ function allows you to share GIFS, draw on the screen, leave film reviews and create your own short videos (it was created by the guy who made Vine after all). You can also do random things like rate films and books… and share what the weather is doing where you are (a feature with limited use if you live in Croydon).
Peach is a great example of companies acknowledging that text and a photo just aren’t enough anymore – GIFS on Facebook, snappy videos on Vine have both grown in popularity very quickly and the free-drawing tool on Snapchat has allowed people to create some serious masterpieces.
Peach combines all of these things. It’s nicely set out, its features are fun and it’s a little quirky but, and there is a but, what is the point?
If I want to share a picture of what I’m up to, I’ll head to Instagram. If I want to scribble on a selfie, I’ll do it on Snapchat. These social platforms have established themselves in popular culture, their content is specific to that platform and they are loved for it. Combining all the best features of popular apps sounds like a good idea, but it’s not.
There are people who have spent years building up a following on Instagram or Vine, because what they create is perfect for that platform. Someone who creates hilarious six-second videos might be a terrible photographer. A WordPress blogger who writes 6,000-word posts might struggle with the 140-character limit of Twitter. So they stick to the platform that best utilises their talent. Are these users likely to jump ship to a platform which has functions outside of their comfort zone?
Interestingly, the only people who do seem to be using it are journalists keen to report the next big thing and brands keen to be identified with the next big thing. Battle of the brands is tiring at the best of times (if I see another ‘Tesco and Asda in Twitter feud!’ article on LAD Bible I’m going to scream) but when it’s a platform is more brands than users, it’s a pointless battle.
My experience with Peach so far has been… honestly, uninteresting – mostly because none of my friends are using it, despite my nagging to sign up. My current friend list includes MTV, Teen Vogue, a couple of journalists and a fake Jeremy Corbyn account. Do I see Peach as the next big thing? No. Could I be wrong? Of course, but if I can’t convince people who use social media 24/7 to download it, I can’t see it becoming the next big thing.
Want your brand to become the next big thing? Come right this way.
