MassRoots: A Social Experiment

 

 

Update, January 2022: 

“After millions of dollars in capital and several years of hype, the cannabis social media network MassRoots has reportedly gone offline for good”: Details at Ganjapreneur

 

Instagram for stoners.

When we first signed up for MassRoots, not many around us had heard of it. Heck, I think I came across it because I went to my app store and searched “marijuana apps.” It’s turned out to be the most social network I have ever been on.

MassRoots, in short, is like Instagram for stoners. You have the ability to upload a picture or video, and use hashtags just like on Instagram. That’s when things get fun! A lot of the people on there are also on Instagram, but they are not as comfortable posting there as on MassRoots. I have two ‘tween nieces following me on Instagram, so I never post anything cannabis-related on my account.

Besides, the Terms Of Service (“the rules”) of Instagram state that you can’t post pictures of flower, and they have banned #weed. It’s not a fun place for cannabis enthusiasts to hang out. Instagram is targeting and taking down cannabis-specific content, something that hurts industry brands and influencers across the board.

It’s different – and encouraged! – to post about weed on MassRoots. In fact, if you don’t, sometimes people call you out for it. They really, really want to talk about weed, and only weed.

Here is where MassRoots gets awesome: it’s extremely social. It reminds me of the old days of Twitter, which I joined in 2008. Back then, it was almost all conversation. There was porn spam, but that’s about it, and it was infrequent enough to make it funny. Twitter has evolved from social into promotion, as a whole.

 

Here is how MassRoots is set up:

1. You have 3 feeds at the top to choose from: Local, Buds (friends), and Global.
2. When you post a picture, it has the same filters for photos as Instagram. Also, a crop feature and a rotate option.
3. You can have a business account, which not only gives you access to analytics, but also gives you an expanded profile to include your address, websites, hours, and phone number. All of that, with its own space, right in your bio.

 

Once you post something, the likes roll in. Then the follows. And the comments. The conversations there are pretty great. There are some heated arguments, as there are always sides on things like state legalizations, but all-in-all, it’s just a bunch of stoners.

Posts can range from a cool beach shot, to the inside of a grow facility, to the manufacture of goods like glass and cannabis products, to a selfie with your favorite bong. A favorite of ours, @puffingmama, shows pictures of going fishing with one of her famous joints. There are a lot of hiking pictures posted, too. And, of course, the insane munchie posts with food that you know you shouldn’t eat.

People often get together for a “sesh” (that is a “session,” in stoner talk), which is nice. People being social on an app (You can also access it on the web), and then meeting in person. Building relationships with like-minded individuals.

We like that.

 

It’s not a perfect app.

We can’t wait for direct messaging, because that can only be good for business in the way Twitter used to be. But it’s a place for cannabis enthusiasts to hang out, not be afraid to talk about weed, and even learn a thing or two.