Back from the dead – has Beme finally got it right?

Not all apps are meant to succeed, but that didn’t stop Casey Neiestat with the revival of Beme.

Whether you’re one of the over 3 million subscribers to Casey Neistat’s YouTube channel or you’re just on the ball in the tech world, you’ve probably heard of the recent relaunch of Beme. If not, here’s a quick rundown:

• The app initially launched during the summer of 2015
• It was supposed to let you share your adventures, sans filters, captions, and lenses
• Due to a decline in hype stemming from an incomplete user friendly platform, Beme went back under construction
• Neistat re-released Beme with a revamped user interface on May 2, 2016 for both iPhone and Android

Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s see whether or not the changes stack up.

The fundamental basics of the app are the same: share a video snippet of your life, as you live it. No fancy filters, no clever captions, just raw footage. To do this, you just need to hold your phone to your chest (or if you want a different vantage point, cover the proximity sensor with your finger) in order to give you the chance to live through your phone, without living through your phone.

What’s changed is the usability. Now, each user has his or her own main profile page, with a grid view of their posted videos. If sending a clip to a friend, you can see their real-time selfie reaction, instead of a halfhearted “like”.

Seeing the increase in demand for video based social media from YouTube and Vine, to the now minute long videos allowed on Instagram, Beme gives a new perspective. You can trade in the endless trial and error of getting the correct lighting and angles, for a black recording screen, that will force you to actually experience your surroundings.

Unlike other social media apps, the featured page for Beme is not selected from an algorithm. Rather, an actual person (or two) updates the app daily, and selects posts to be chosen as a top post for one of the many categories from Cats, to Hot Dads.

Is it worth it?

Sure, why not? Video sharing is only increasing in popularity, and if you’re on board with the expanse of technology, then you might want to get on this one! Beme is the love child of Instagram, Snapchat and Vine, but created by someone whose main job is vlogging, and is passionate about changing the way we share our lives. With the cultivated media we are so used to sharing with the world, Neistat’s vision to give a more authentic sharing experience is now a reality.

Beme is an innovative way of sharing videos of your life, without missing a thing. The relaunch is already seeing massive success (and not just because it’s now available on Android), with over 1 million videos shared within the first week. Reactions of your video clips are seen in real time before they disappear, so you can have an authentic response to your post. It’s definitely worth taking a shot, and looking past your screen.

Sarah Elshater

Sarah Elshater (Elle-shot-er) is a Marketing Coordinator for Caseo LTD. When she's not writing or making people's livelihoods better, she's exploring her surroundings with her DSLR.