Ow. This is hard to look at.

But at the same time, so completely offbeat and out of the norm that I have to keep using this app. Super relies on a design scheme that couldn’t be more different from that of Instagram or Twitter. It’s flat out rejecting the two-tone, aesthetically pleasing interfaces that are characteristic of Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. It’s laughing at us for being so basic for so long (Instagram was released in 2010 by the way), making us pay attention to its bold, outrageous colors and screaming fonts. Super has a comic book-esque design, employs harsh neon lines and relies on capitalized/italicized fonts to communicate messages.

The way the app is designed, it forces you to get to the point. I’m certainly a fan of that.

Quasi-anonymity?

When creating a post, you’re presented with 17 short phrases to begin your post with. You must select one, and you are prompted to sign your post. Although you have the option to remain anonymous in your signature, anyone can easily find your profile from your posts.

Target audience = middle school students.

This is the first thought I had when I started using the app. The colors and fonts are wacky and fun, and the creative comment posting functionality is bound to appeal to set of pre-teens over a group of adults or twentysomething college students. They will love this shit.

Also, the popularity and reach of Gen Z celebrities could totally be leveraged to attract flocks of kids to use this app. In my case, I noticed a Q&A in my newsfeed between Jason Saltzman and Biz Stone that led me to download the app. No word yet on how thirtysomethings are feeling about Super, but one of my co-workers in his late thirties who used to make comic book designs did get excited when I showed him the app — he downloaded it within a few seconds of my description.

College students? To be honest, the simplicity and ease of making an anonymous post on Yik Yak seems to be engaging enough for us. We’re also deeply embedded in the Instagram scene — more so than the current thirteen year old. It’s important to note that despite the fact that we use Facebook less and differently than we did in middle school/high school, we still use it all the time (Facebook groups for school, stalking someone, updating pictures). It’ll take either A) time, or B) a revolutionary new social media platform to get our attention.

But in the end, people will use Super if their friends are using it, plain and simple. Curiosity to try a new app, along with its credibility from Twitter’s Biz may attract new users — but will it keep them?

Part Instagram — part Tumblr?

Tumblr is primarily used by a teenage demographic for its anonymous blogging feature. You can post your own photos, but it is common to reblog others posts instead. On Instagram, you are encouraged to create an account entirely linked with your identity, and the comment feature allows you interact with other users. On Super, you’re given the option to be anonymous on a variety of posts. If you don’t have your own photo to post, Super has a gallery of images to inspire creativity that you can search and upload (Check out the pizza I found in the photo above).

Is Super going to change the social media game? The world?

Wrapping up, here’s a snippet from the original article that popped up in my Twitter feed. The conversation sufficiently gauged my interest and led me t0 download this quirky, eye-catching, and quite possibly pointless app:

Jason Saltzman (CEO, alleyNYC): Twitter literally changed the world. Many startups say they want to change the world, but you actually did. Do you think that Super is going to change the world?

Biz Stone (co-founder, Twitter): I have no expectation that Super will change the world. In fact, I’ve decided not to come up with some slick and pithy marketing description for Super. I’m certainly not going to proclaim that Super is the most innovative thing ever or that it’s going to change the world. It’s not, it’s just fun. We’re having fun building it, people are having fun using it. For now, we’re gonna see where this plan takes us.