Merry Jane private beta: what can we see?

Snoop Dogg announced it two weeks ago, Merry Jane, its cannabis-focused platform, is rolling out gradually, at a rate of 420 new users per day. Newsweed has received its invitation. An in-depth look.

What does Merry Jane look like?

In terms of design, Merry Jane has a fairly modern look. A background video, large images, a sticky menu, a responsive site… but also a simple layout showcasing the 6 latest news stories, the 4 most popular stories, and a carousel to highlight selected content. The art direction is classic and effective—we like it.

What kind of content can you find on Merry Jane?

Since the site is still in private beta, it currently features only its launch content. To put it briefly (and modestly), its editorial line isn't very different from that of Newsweed: news about the legalization of cannabis in the United States, reviews of cannabis companies, analyses of the latest trends such as the cannabis-infused cuisine. Articles are published at a rate of 3 to 4 per day.

Snoop Dogg had promised to bring his friends to his website: we can already see content about Miley Cyrus or a Tutorial on rolling a joint with Seth Rogen.

The Video section does not currently feature any exclusive videos, but rather a curated selection of videos about cannabis. Videos like *Deflowered* (see below) will certainly be added very soon.

Is that all?

No, of course not. Snoop Dogg wants to create the‘World Encyclopedia of Cannabis", and there are two sections to help him: Goods and Dispensaries

The section Goods features a wide range of flowers, edibles, concentrates, and other cannabis-based beauty products. Users can search by filtering by product category or type (hybrid, sativa, indica, (hash, sex, etc.), by Desired Effect, and by Flavors (diesel, blueberry, lemon, mango, etc.).

Products that match the criteria appear as the user searches, and the user can browse through the various weed varieties reviewed by the Merry Jane team. For each strain, there is a photo of a bud from that strain, a description of the strain’s characteristics (aroma, effect, etc.), and a 360° photo that lets you take a look all around the bud.

One might have expected to be able to zoom in to take a closer look at the details of the trichomes and in different colors, or at least have an HD version of each photo. Besides, not all the varieties have been photographed yet.

The section Dispensaries lists the various dispensaries in the United States. Merry Jane invites each dispensary to sign up on the site and manage its own profile. Dispensaries can provide information about their hours, the strains they sell, and their promotions.

Verdict

A simple and effective platform. We’re very curious to see how the site will grow. The content is interesting, though not particularly in-depth. The overall «content–varieties–dispensaries» approach aims to bring together, in one place, internet users interested in the topic and B2B businesses likely to sell them products. Attracting an audience through content and then redirecting them to branded content is an interesting approach, which could be further enhanced by the strategies that can be implemented Snoop Dogg. It goes without saying that we'll be keeping a close eye on what happens to Merry Jane!