Beme.
What is it?
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Beme is a new company started by filmmaker Casey Neistat, Matt Hackett from Tumblr, and their team. You may have heard of Casey from his recent “Snowboarding With the NYPD” video that went viral after Winter Storm Jonas. They are creating a medium for people to share their experiences without having to stare at a screen and critique their content. With a focus on forming a welcoming and all-around awesome community, this team of entrepreneurs could be onto something big.
And that community starts with an app called Beme.
So what does that mean exactly?
Basically, you have the freedom to tell stories and connect with friends without the constant self-judgement and self-filtering that comes along with everything from Instagram to Snapchat. Pretty cool right? Yes, Instagram has the ability to make our lives look more glamorous than they actually are (for the most part), but that can be exhausting and sometimes confusing. Is Beme what we need for those moments when you just want to share without critique? Maybe!
I know the concept might sound a little weird and even a bit scary to some people, but with a group of friends on the app, they won’t care about how perfect you look or the video quality, anyway.
Is it just another picture and video-sharing app?
Well, not exactly. Here’s what makes Beme so unique.
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First of all, you don’t need to press a button to record. There is a proximity sensor near the microphone on your iPhone that Beme uses to take a video. So that means you can place your phone to your chest (or anything, really). You can also put a finger over the sensor to start capturing moments.
Videos are recorded four seconds at a time (they can last longer that that, 4 seconds is just the minimum) and shared instantly. That’s right, no playback feature.
Videos may be seen once by a follower and that’s it, so there’s no replay feature either. While a follower plays your video, they can send you real-time reactions (selfies-as many as they want).
In its simplest form, that’s Beme. I think this app and certainly this company has a lot of potential. It’s not perfect, and like any social media app, it’s only as great as its users.
If you’re interested, check out this video (words can only do it so much justice) at https://beme.com/, and while you’re at it, check out Casey Neistat’s Youtube channel for vlogs and other amazing videos. His wife, Candice Pool Neistat (Instagram linked), is a jewelry designer that has been featured in Vogue–oh, and they have an adorable little girl Francine. On Beme, follow users like Casey who know how to use the app, try it out, and make sure you convince all of your friends to join, too!