Is Peach Still the Next Big Social Network?

A few weeks ago, a social network named Peach arrived with a pedigree that made tech bloggers and Twitter nerds swoon over what could be the next big thing. Yes, I was skeptical: There are only so many ways you can post a photo of your lunch, wish your cousin a happy birthday, or complain about a canceled flight. And mastering a new repertoire of online tricks can be daunting, often yielding nothing more than another password to remember.

After using Peach for a couple of weeks, though, it's grown on me, to the point where I check for updates at least twice a day. I find it a superior way to keep track of what's going on with my closest friends. Of course, that doesn't mean the service is going to last. The hype machine quickly turned on Peach, announcing its demise almost as soon as it started gaining attention—and with good reason: Social networks like Path, App.net, and Ello were heralded as worthy Facebook challengers as well, but ultimately each one failed to pull in enough loyal users. What good is a social network if your friends aren't users of the network?

With its short, breezy posts, Peach seems like an only-for-good-friends version of Twitter. Created by Dom Hofmann, co-founder of the video-based social network Vine, the service is available—for now, at least—only via app and only to Apple's iOS users. (In fact, the new network's name and logo appear to playfully refer to Apple's fruity emoji.) 

Each time you open the app, the first thing you see is a list of simple updates from your friends. Instead of a firehose of information, you're treated to an easy-to-read diary of their day. When you tap on a friend's profile, you see his or her posts: status updates, photos, music selection of the moment. To view previous posts, you have to scroll up. Tapping on an update brings you to the comment section, where Peach suggests you "say something nice." Double-tapping adds a "heart" to the post, much like on Instagram. The point is to let you do the bulk of your posting with a few simple keyboard tricks.

You can add friends to Peach in a few ways. The quickest route is to press the Add Friends button and type a username. But if you can't remember your buddy's anime-inspired nickname, you can always connect via the address book on your iPhone. Swipe left to see a list called "Friends of Friends," which lets you review posts from non-acquaintances. To comment on those missives, however, you must first get approval from the poster. Unlike Twitter, which considers following and unfollowing a one-sided transaction, Peach operates more like a private club. Without permission, you don't get access.

Peach also lets you favorite up to 20 people, ensuring that you see posts from your best buds before the rest of the crew. If you want to protect your privacy, you can remove yourself from the list of friends. To change your visibility (and other aspects of your profile), tap the Settings icon at the top of the app.

Swiping right lets you see your notifications, telling you who liked your picture of last week's lunchtime salad (no one) or commented on your choice of ruffage (thanks, Michael).

Keyboard tricks like those are Peach's secret sauce. Similar to Slash, the service uses shortcuts to make communication easier, and those shortcuts make conveying common bits of information as simple as typing a "magic word." Weather brings up the current forecast based on your location; Gif brings up—naturally—a selection of gifs based on your keywords; Rate grants you the ability to proffer a one to five-star review, and so on. It feels more like programming a quip than writing your musings.

And Peach is adding more shortcuts all the time. For a full list, type help in the app—or check out the chart below. The network's creators are still fixing bugs, too, and whipping up features such as user biographies.

For all the online buzz it generated in the first 72 hours, though, Peach hasn't produced any metrics that confirm growth. And, like I said, its success depends on who uses it. Lately I've been disheartened to find two-week-old posts from my list of friends.

If Peach is a fad, I'm still jumping on the bandwagon. It's a nice change of pace from the constant stream of images, status updates, and breathless comments on other networks. Focusing on one person's story at a time, engaging with true friends, and updating your feed with little tidbits of info makes for a simple way to connect with the people you really care about.