My thoughts on Dtrip

About a week from today, hundreds (probably thousands) of persons would come together in a place. Developers, designers, media personalities, publicists and content creators from around the world may have planned their trips, bought flight tickets and processed their visas already.

Are you going to be present? If yes, there's a possibility that you've never been to this place. Hence, you'd be needing a travel guide to navigate the beautiful scenery known for its well-preserved medieval core.

_{• Image by Geralt on Pixabay}

Oh! Hope I didn't lose you. You guessed right... Steemfest. Steemfest, a yearly event in which Steem enthusiasts come together to learn from one another and broaden their networks.

The event is going to be held in Kraków, Poland, and would last for 5 days. I came across a new Steem dApp last week, which may prove helpful during such a big event. The app is named Dtrip. I decided to sign into the app and try out the platform. I'll be highlighting my views on the website, its prospects and the aspects I feel need some improvements or restructuring.

Repository

https://github.com/d-trip/DTrip

URL: https://dtrip.app

What is Dtrip?

Dtrip is a web app based on the Steem blockchain, which was created for people to talk about the recent places they visited, share their stories, upload pictures and share news. Don't forget as a Steem dApp, it comes with content rewards - in Steem and Steem dollars.

This is a new project on the Steem blockchain, still in an alpha phase. Currently, the web app is the only available version. It was developed by @avral on Steemit.

The only way to view travel contents on most Steem condensers is by clicking on the #travel tag or on #steemfest tag, as Steemfest is around the corner. This is different on Dtrip. Dtrip intends to change that by creating a more relaxed environment for travellers to interact and engage in interesting discussions.

I always felt like touring around the world as a kid, visiting different places, seeing different cultures and traditions. But the hurdle I had and still have to deal with is financial burden, as well as visa applications. Dtrip aims to be the change. With Dtrip, you'll get rewarded for visiting new places, so you can even visit more places. :)

I'll like to discuss peculiar features it has that is quite different from the most popular Steem condenser, Steemit.

_{• Screenshots showing Dtrip's text editor}

Text Editor

It's Text Editor is quite different from that of Steemit, and more enhanced. It contains a word counter feature and line counter feature. Also displays a code bar, which contains codes that can easily be inputed in an article.

_{• Image showing Dtrip's location feature}

Location

Yeah, since it's a website that has to do with places, location on posts is one of its core features. That is another feature Steemit doesn't have. Google maps is integrated in the app. You have to select a location before submitting an article.

There is a map at the bottom of the text editor. At the top of the map, there is a space provided to input the location of the place you want to write about. I tried the feature with my location, and the map of my city appeared. I could then proceed to select a place closer to my exact location.

Tags

On Steemit you get to choose the (five) tags that relates best to your post, this is different on Dtrip. Dtrip gives you a list of tag that you should choose from: Story, Place, Instruction, Question, Event and News. It is compulsory the first tag is from the list, while other tags could be anything you wish. Dtrip calls it publication type, and not tags.

_{• Image showing list of Dtrip's pulication types}

Publication Types

The publication types include: (i) Story, (ii) Place, (iii) Instruction, (iv) Question, (v) Event and (vi) News.

(i) Story

This publication type could be used when writing about how you spent your holiday or vacation, not necessarily a review. An experience which would offer insights to people intending to pay a visit to the place.

Just few months back, I read different experiences from people that visited Santorini, Greece. Several others read the experiences, as a result, we all wanted to visit Santorini. It became a trend on the social media platform in my town. The pictures the visitors uploaded contained a mix of towering cliffs, inky waters and whitewashed villages. Makes the place unique, and yes, it's still on my to-visit list.

(ii) Place

Probably the best place to leave your reviews. What do you think about a place? Good or bad? How much would it cost to visit there? Such questions could be answered.

(iii) Instruction

The dos and don'ts of a neighbourhood. In some areas in the world it's not safe to leave your home when it's past 7pm. The article could also tell what people in the neighbourhood view as rude. Some places even have certain clothing that are not permitted due to cultures and beliefs. For instance, inapporiate dress code could see tourist jailed in Dubai. Would be great to know that beforehand. :|

(iv) Question

Are you planning to visit a city? You can leave your inquiries on Dtrip. It would be asinine not to ask questions when your safety is involved. Thoughts that are bothering could be easily cleared when you ask straightforward questions.

(v) Event

Did you travel for a big event? Maybe a fashion show, an international competition, or even our very own Steemfest. You can post what's going on in that event. During the last Steemfest, most of the posts on Steem condensers were relating to Steemfest. Posts like "Chilling with Ned of house Scott," or "Yaay! Finally met my favourite witness," and many more.

(vi) News

You could post emergency news about where you stay. Safety is important, everyone travelling to a new place is always concerned about their safety, which is normal. It could also be about recent natural disasters, or even crime news. On the other hand, good news is also welcomed. Recently, I read a post about the most peaceful country in the world, which happened to be Iceland.

Who would have thought the Vikings are so peaceful? I still get the creeps when I hear the Vikings' thunder clap. That kind of news would be great to know. It would also attract visitors, whom would be left with the feeling that they've learnt something new.

_{• Image by Mohamed Hassan on Pixabay}

Challenges and Suggestions

The display doesn't look good, even the developer knows it. I would have suggested the developer (@avral) make the website look better, but here's what he said when a concerned steemian talked about its display and competition, "I especially do not want to make the application attractive, so that everyone would like it. I make it for those for whom the idea is really interesting." - see full comment here.

Well, that's not good enough. An open source project needs adaptability to survive. That is the reason why hard forks happen on the Steem blockchain.

In addition, I believe anyone interested in touring the world would definitely be interested in beauty. The idea may be really great, but it is the display that brings the idea to life. The display attracts users, the idea keeps them going.

_{• Dtrip tab view}

The website looks empty. Not talking about the posts, nah nah... The posts are few, that's understandable, since the website is relatively new. I'm talking about its missing pages. It seems like the website has only a home page and a post page, and nothing else. No about page, no user page, no faq page. The list of missing pages is endless. I felt lonely while surfing through the website. :(

The website cannot be used alone, you have to use it with a preferred Steem condenser. This is because of the absence of most features other Steem dApps have, like a profile, wallet, and feeds. The website lacks in these areas, it needs to be worked upon to ease adoption.

Tabs could be created for each of the different publication types the website contains: Story, Place, Instruction, Question, Event and News. The tabs could be added to the website menu. By clicking on the menu, the tabs would display, posts on a selected publication type could then appear. This would prove very helpful in sorting post categories.

Conclusion

As I have said earlier, Dtrip is an excellent idea. Especially as Steemfest is around the corner, it's the best time to create exposure for the dApp. The main challenge is it's display, development and adaptability. In my opinion, the developer needs to be willing to attract new users. With more improvements, Dtrip could become a major competitor to other non-blockchain websites like TripAdvisor.

Official links

• DTrip v0.1-Alpha: share your travel experience with STEEM
• Dtrip on Github

Series Backlinks

This is the first post of the series.