BeReal: The app with the mission to make social media authentic again
Tired of perfect stories on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat? Your friends apparently being on a constant vacation and always having fun?Well, you are probably not alone, at least when considering the millions of downloads of the new social media app BeReal.
Let me say, your friends are also having surprisingly boring days every now and then and BeReal brings it to light. It is an illusion some social media apps purposely create by allowing their users to post when they want, which they do usually during their best moments.
The European startup, headquartered in Paris and funded amongst others by a16z wants to solve this.
Everyday at a different time, everyone is notified simultaneously to capture and share a Photo in 2 Minutes. A new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life. — BeReal
Though, this can hit in inconvenient moments leading to unflattering but authentic photos. However, this is life and, to be honest, it feels pretty refreshing.
It also has the potential to make you consider your life choices when you realize you are posting for the third day in a row a photo of your unshaved tired face and the desk you have been working on all day long.
From a user experience standpoint, the app is incredibly well thought-through: Photos of your friends are only visible once you posted your photo which prevents lurking and makes everyone participate. Late posting is penalized through an attached label on the post. Hoping to take multiple attempts until the perfect shot? Well, your friends can see how many retakes you took. Moreover, the front and rear cameras are used simultaneously to depict a realistic situation.
Is this the current generation’s answer against too much perfectionism online? At the moment, it looks like the founders hit the mark.
Admittedly, the startup has not yet implemented monetization but who cares about money when you can have daily active users?
Propelled through university campus marketing campaigns, patience and fine-tuning, they have now reached hockey stick growth.
How long BeReal can keep this first mover advantage before the feature appears in the competition is still up in the air.
I see a small advantage on the side of BeReal, even when the competition will copy the features of BeReal, their perceived branding and remaining features will still be conflicting.
Spoiler warning: Instagram already launched a test feature called “Dual” which allows multi-camera Reels which is presumably the best praise you can get as a tech founder.
If you are curious, you can download the app here:
https://bere.al/
