Folks, I have some exciting news to share with you.

Over the past few months, I’ve been hosting my own channel – “The Foodie Diaries” – on a new app, Pepo.

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I can almost hear the collective grumbles… Oh lord, not another social  media app.

Not quite.

From live conversations with like-minded individuals to expert-advice (particularly useful when planning ahead for a trip); discovering new and interesting stories to posting personalised, in-the-moment videos… I’ve found that Pepo’s platform offers a unique and in some ways, far more engaging experience than many of its contemporaries (Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter included).

Here’s all you need to know if you fancy joining our growing community…

People & Passions

The starting clue is in the name, with Pepo bringing together people & passions.

Once you’ve tagged your interests (mine but naturally include food, travel and art to name a few!), the app recommends similar channels dedicated to these topics and hosted by influencers from around the world, as well as living in your local city. This way, you can discover new content which might be trending globally, whilst also finding relevant stories closer to home! You can of course, also manually search for content and topics of interest.

Here’s a snapshot of my feed and some of the channels, which I follow…

… And of the channel hosted by moi. 

Much like on Instagram and indeed this blog, I use my Pepo channel as a means of sharing my latest foodie finds, cultural quests and/ or travel diaries.

What sets Pepo apart is that the underlying interactions are a lot more direct and unreservedly-engaging, as each channel has built a relatively small but strong community around it, of individuals having similar interests. I have just about 600 members on my Pepo channel at the time of writing, as compared to over 13,000 on Instagram!

While the content shared is usually quite brief in nature (they say that a picture is sometimes worth a thousand words), the subsequent reactions are wonderfully creative and varied. Rather than just “liking” a picture or link that I’ve posted, members often respond through emoticons which reflect their mood, on-point text comments, and through real-time discussions.

Live Q&A sessions are in fact a major feature,  with questions often asked and responded to via live videos (as well as by text, images, links to blogposts and more!)… As I’ve made no secret of my thirty-two sweet teeth, it won’t surprise you to learn that I’m sometimes asked for insider recommendations on must-have desserts and the like! Conversely, I’ve often sought the advice of other experts for tips when planning holidays, including ahead of my upcoming trip to Dubai.

Seeing as it’s all about live videos in 2017, Pepo has also recently introduced Spotlight so you can share in-the-moment moments on your channel. You can choose the length of time for which you’d like your video to be prominently broadcast (spanning from 15 minutes to 24 hours) – this will be the first thing that anyone sees when landing on your channel during this time, and remains embedded afterwards as part of your channel’s history.

Unlike on other apps, you can’t post previously-recorded videos saved on your phone, thus creating a real sense of intimacy, not to mention adding an authentic touch! I especially loved using this feature during a recent visit to the  Amritsar, as it let me take my followers along, from the Golden Temple to the bustling streets, bazaars and dhabas that the city is so famous for.

Broadening Horizons

My experience using Pepo has really been a multifaceted one, connecting me with like-minded food and travel explorers in innovative and interactive ways.

I absolutely love telling my stories in a manner that lets others join me on my adventures; and equally I’ve been able to broaden my own outlook and horizons by following others on their exciting jaunts and journeys too.

I’m off to the Middle East next week (Dubai and Bahrain) – if you fancy a mini-break, do subscribe to my channel so I can see you there!