How I found out about it
I have been seeing a lot of new advertisements on Instagram and TikTok. They usually would advertise a carousel of a post filled with advice, outfits, or gym routines! It’s usually a pretty cute post. I felt that the ads work very well on Instagram but not on TikTok. I was pretty hesitant to download the app because it’s not often you see a big and successful social media platform advertising itself the way Lemon8 does. It was a lot. I noticed that the comments also were full of questions about the app and its purpose. I felt that there was an atmosphere of hesitant curiosity. They kind of established a community in the curiosity of its audience, and contributed to the word of mouth marketing. As a lover of Social Media, I went ahead and downloaded it. It’s been a week since then.
It’s aesthetic
I felt that its Aesthetic was fine. Its colors are white with accents of yellow, and not much besides that. Its “explore” page is probably the most colorful page, and it’s mostly because of the advertisement on the top of the page, and the featured content! I am not too big of a fan of it, as I love all colors! I truly believe the app can still look neat and “clean” with more color besides yellow!
User interface
I found the app very easy to navigate. I have to keep in mind that I also use just about every single social media platform. I find this app very similar to TikTok and Pinterest in regards to its interface! Your profile and notifications tab are placed at the bottom right of the “create” button! On the left of that button, you have your search/explore page and your home page (which has a “For You” and “Following” page). We can admit that this is extremely similar to TikTok and Instagram! I don’t mind at all, since I don’t have to put effort into understanding how to navigate the platform, but this can make it seem like it lacks creativity.
Editing your profile is very easy, and so is uploading content. It’s similar to TikTok in the sense that you have a “saved” collection from the point of view of your profile. You can organize your saved posts into collections, which is like Pinterest! Very vision-board-esque. Nothing is easier than scrolling through the “For You” page (of course).
it’s Audience
What I found very interesting is how informative a lot of the content is. I do believe that social media is shifting to be this way rather than solely entertainment, but to me, it reflected Pinterest. The audience is similar to a college girls’s TikTok page: full of workout routines, productive motivation, and study inspo. There are a lot of “Reasons why…” and “Why I…” on the platform. From my point of view (a college student), there are a lot of Gen Z girls posting their content!
How does it compare to other social media?
I found it extremely similar to Pinterest and TikTok. I don’t know if this app will be successful long term, but for now, it is full of eager people creating content! I find it similar to the app Threads since Threads had an initial popularity that didn’t maintain since it’s so similar to X (previously Twitter).
The verdict
I’m not crazy about it! I already use Pinterest and TikTok excessively, and the app doesn’t provide much more than those apps do! I think it’s more niche and concentrated on its audience, but that doesn’t overshadow the other aspects I mentioned. I would keep the app on the phone, and maybe I’ll write an updated review after a month of using it because I see potential in the app for our generation! It can grow into something more niche and unique.