What if Utopian v2(Version 2) is an app?

Repository

https://github.com/utopian-io/v2.utopian.io

Introduction

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My thoughts have been wild lately. I've been imagining how cool it will be if the Utopian team develops a software as the release of Utopian v2.

Hello, I'm Harry and this is a post that is in line with my series about the Utopian project.
I sincerely apologize for the slight tweak in the title.

In my previous blog post I expressed my opinions about the Utopian project. I also shared my user experience. But, in this blog post, I will share my thoughts about why it'll be cool if Utopian releases a software for v2.

Have fun reading!

Post Body

The utopian front-end has been down for a couple of months after some issues. This is no longer a new news. But, there are promises of a better, smoother and efficient version of Utopian. That is, Utopian v2(version 2). I was opportune to watch online, part of steemfest that held in Poland. The part I watched was Diego talking about the roadmap before the release of Utopian v2(version 2). This new version is scheduled for release on or before April 2019.

There are high expectations for the release of this version. I'm certain that with the team of professionals working tirelessly on the project, it will not disappoint. But, what if Utopian decides to surprise us with an app? This would make my dreams come true.

There are a lot of advantages that come with accessing a platform with the use of a software instead of a web page. This is evident in Facebook.
Facebook originally started out being a website. But as technology advanced, they saw the need to develop a software. I don't think I'm wrong if I say the Facebook app is more relevant than its web page counterpart. Aside facebook, there's steepshot which is a dApp on the steem blockchain. Steepshot has both a webpage and a software now. The app came before the website though I'm uncertain.

If Utopian doesn't plan to release a software for v2, but buys the idea, here are the features I will like it to have.

Features of supposed Utopian software.

1. Material design User Interface (UI)

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If you are familiar with my reviews of apps lately, you will know of my deep interest in UI. For the Utopian software, it'll be great if a material design is used.

The material design was developed by Google in 2014. The designed is so sleek that a lot of developers are using it on their apps. When this design was first released, there were few apps that had it. Today a handful majority of apps use material design. This design was even used on Steemia which is a steem dapp. Aside steemia, I think 1ramp's design is also materialistic.
This design wouldn't be bad on the utopian software. I'm certain the blend of utopian's colors and material design would be fantastic.
Night mode option should be available too. This is very important.

Functionalities

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Under the functionalities sub-header, I'll talk about what users should be able to do with the app. More-so, the services of utopian that users will have access to.

Feed.

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The feed should be the first thing that is displayed when the app is launched.
This feature was available in the front-end before it went down. It was an important feature then and it is now. On the app users should be able to access the feed of unreviewed contributions. To make it better, users should be able to sort by categories.

Create and submit contributions.

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This is one of the most important features of the app. It'll be pointless if users can make contributions with the app. The categories, their guidelines, and templates should be included.
Furthermore, since the feed is available, they can also comment and upvote on contributions.

User profile

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The inclusion of this feature in the app cannot be exaggerated. It is mandatory for the user profile to be on the app. But in the case of the utopian app, users will see only all their utopian contributions. To make this smoother, it should be split between accepted, rejected and pending. This was available in the old front end and will be in Utopian v2.

Wallet.

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The wallet can be integrated into the user profile section. It is not a problem if it has its own spot too. Users should be able to conduct transactions with the app. This was not possible in the old front end. We could only see our assets. Maybe this would change in v2.

Security measures.

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The utopian app will be incomplete without this feature. Utopian will use steemconnect for login authentication and that I'm sure of. But the security shouldn't stop at that. The app should be equipped with its own lock function. This is a feature on esteemapp. But this can be improved on the Utopian app. Mobile devices today support touch ID and facial ID as security measures. These should be integrated into the app. Furthermore, the security should be active when a user tries to make a transaction.

Notifications.

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This is the first feature I'll appreciate a lot. When the old front-end existed, I don't think there was a way contributors could know about the status of their contributions. Information about the moderator reviewing a contribution wasn't available too. If this was available, I don't know. But even if it was, it still required accessing the webpage to find out. Utopian.rocks extension currently provides that information while the utopian frontend is down.
There would be no need for contributors to access any website to get this information if the app exists.
The app should notify contributors when their contributions are;

• Published on the steem blockchain
• Being reviewed by a moderator(name of moderator inclusive)
• Reviewed and scored(display score)
• Upvoted by Utopian.

This might not be possible but, it'll great if the notifications are peculiar to utopian. What this means is that users would not be notified about any activity other than that of utopian. If it does it would be like any other steem software. Except the activity was carried out with the utopian software.

These are the features I'll love to see if utopian decides to create an app. There are other aesthetics that can be included. Such as

• Voting slider
• Currency
• Scheduler
• Drafts
• Bookmarks
• Chat
• FAQs etc

The app can not contain everything. So users will still have to depend on the website for the missing features. But, the features of the app will be useful enough for daily activities.

While creating this blog post, my mind wandered in endless possibilities. But, there are some things that might not work out with the app. On the old front-end, we could synchronize our Github profile with utopian. We could also fetch project repositories by searching it. I'm not a developer so I don't know how possible this is. If it is possible then it's great.

Benefits of the Utopian app

1. Faster responsiveness.

Apps are known to work or function faster than websites.

2. Quicker access to post status information with notifications.

With this feature, users will not have to go to the website to get post status information. They can now receive notifications of activities faster even while they are not on the app.

3. Foster social interactions amongst community members.

This is a benefit is the chat feature is included. The chat feature will allow community members to get talking amongst themselves privately on the app. There's discord though but, it's not a bad idea to be on the utopian app.

Summary.

In this post, I've openly discussed my fantasies of a utopian app. The features that I've mentioned might be a lot for an app to carry through.
The benefits I highlighted are few. But in reality, this app will be of great benefit to community members.

Thanks for reading!

If you support the idea of a utopian app, drop your comments in the comments section. If there are features you'll like to see, drop them in the comments section.

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Material_Design

Series Backlinks

Incentivizing contributors to Open source projects. Was it the best idea that was birthed??

Incentivizing contributors to Open source projects. Was it the best idea that was birthed?? (part 2)