Steemit doesn't need 2017 roadmap. It needs some basic functionalities so we can form communities.
OK, so lately everyone is waiting for the steemit 2017 roadmap. But isn't it only to increase the hype? I know that we all want to know where steemit is going in 2017 but I'm afraid it won't go far without basic functionalities that we're still missing.
Let me start with something obvious - social networks are fuelled by people - in my opinion by communities, to be precise.
Yet, it seems that steemit devs tend to ignore this fact. The only tool we have to actually form some type of relations with others is the "follow" option. But let's say I'm into cars or games.
What do I have to do to find people with similar interests on steemit? Well - welcome to the 90s.
I have to manually type s t e e m i t . c o m / c r e a t e d / c a r s
And I can only do this because I spend some time on steemit so I know how the url's work here. But what if I'm new user? Oh, I have search tags and topics panel on the right. What happens when I type "cars" there?
(I actually typed "nothing" in google img search)
It's similar story for other less popular tags.
Seriously, if you want to have live and kicking social platform, you need to allow people to form communities as fast and easily as possible. I want to meet people with similar interests, I want to take from them useful information and give to them the same thing. This is when the magic happens, the true synergy between people. Than I want to visit my community again, stay in touch, on daily basis.
So please @ned - just few very simple things that are super easy for experienced web dev:
- follow tags
- allow to add favourite tags on the right tab - they can have different colour and stay on top of the list
- allow to easily tip people with steem with 2 clicks
- private messages (k, that is a bit harer probably)
And that's it. This is where we start making steemit something big in my opinion. Than the roadmap for 2017 will write itself.
Cheers!
Under the current system, tipping process includes "login with active key", which can be bothersome. I suggested to add quick pay balance to facilitate tipping and microtransactions. (Github link)
different balance is a good idea, eventually the tip amount can be limited to something like 0.1 steem
tipping is a great idea, would take away much of the dependence on whale votes
This is my old idea about tipping. Maybe you'll like it.
Nice idea.
i love this idea!!!! i hope they're listening ;)
if we had communities right now, it would not matter, because there are not enough active steemit users to make it matter. I am confident that communities will be on the road-map, but even more important than that, is GROWTH
I think that forming communities, making people engaged will bring growth:) bringing more people won't do much if they won't stay.
ok so...
Week 1 = create communities
Week 2 = market and promote communities
Chicken and egg
People need the community infrastructure to be drawn in and have a reason to stay.
New users are not staying here because it's so hard to find a community. They publish a few posts, don't get any votes or comments and then decide this is not for them and leave. If we had even basic type of group functionality, we could retain a lot more newbies.
I've been thinking about this, too. This is essential feature if Steem wants to be a social network and not only publishing platform.
My proposal for the needed features for group functionality are:
I just recently wrote about this and suggested that we should call groups in Steem as steemrooms – perfect name, right?
I've also written few months ago about basically the same thing as ownable tags.
Promoted for with $1 this roadmap)). To all - please do the the same!
thanks! followed:)
Upvote from @ned - my life is complete <3 (no homo).
Fingers crossed for those few simple things (private msgs can wait;)
:) I dont think being an attention whore has lead anyone to greatness,
but you are special, great article!!!!
We want the road map to decide if they are going to put in the features that will make it more usable.
You make some good points @cardboard, nice to see what the devs could do on this. Specially with a upvote from @ned.
Upvoted, and followed
These are some great ideas...I have been thinking the same things!! It's great that you posted this and probably why it's still in beta...they are working out the kinks and to have users tell them what they really want to see really probably helps a lot. They probably are working really hard on the backend...i.e. let's make this thing work, be secure, and not fall apart when some dude hits the refresh button 20 times to see how many votes he's gotten on his 3 minutes old article. They don't generally think in terms "hey, this should look beautiful and have all these cool little buttons and have everything spelled out for users who are not developers." That's usually a designers job. I love to see a vote counter on my profile showing how many things I have voted for, which things I have voted for, and what my voting power is currently at. I know they tried to do the voting power thing in the app but I'd love to see it on the website which is what I generally use. Anyway, I think more users need to voice their opinions like this because that's how the developers are going to learn what the public wants to see. Personally, I think the tags are annoying and I wish their was a better and more streamlined way of handling it. What if we signed up for interests...let's say, mine would be art, health, and photography, then instead of weeding through all the bitcoin articles, pictures of naked chicks, and goodness knows what else I would just have the things I'm interested in as tabs at the top of my profile. Make it so you could always add new things as interests or remove things but if you arent interested in poetry, or motorcycles then it wouldn't show up unless you went to the New or Promoted feed. Perhaps when you hit an interest tab it takes you to a new page where everything you might be interested in is listed and has a lovely chat box off to the side so that you could converse with people and get to know them. That would be a great way to encourage people to spend more time on the site, engage in collaborations on things and bring interest because that isn't something that any of the other social media sites allow you to do. Maybe at the bottom of the page suggest other interests that are similar. I mean, I wouldn't want to break up the site too much but I'm not likely to read an article about something that I'm not interested in in the first place and so I think people tend to skip using the tags altogether, end up missing content that would be of interest and just vote on articles written by people with the highest reputations. Anyway, love your article, great ideas, hope more people follow suit and voice their ideas as well!!!
If you want "sub-steem" or communities, it would need sone serious work on the blockchain and UI. Then when should that be done? Before or after other features? Well, that's why you need a roadmap.