Publish0x companion app, can we figure out what this news means?

By Patch | Things of note and other interesting stuff | 17 Jul 2022

In Igor's update post there was three news revealed. And the only reason I put Ethereum coming back as bigger news than the announcement of the companion app is there was too little info about it. So let us speculate a little.

What do we know so far

In the update, Igor had very little to say about it, but we will try and figure out what we can from this. Here is the excerpt from the update post:

We are in the process of making an companion app to Publish0x.com!

We hope to have version 1 of the app ready before the end of the year. This app will be a companion app, and not a Publish0x.com version for mobile phones.

What we hope to achieve with the companion app is twofold:

Users of Publish0x, The App will be able to earn additional crypto on top of what they are earning on the web version of Publish0x.com.
Further, select posts will get increased exposure to a wider audience, and with this the authors will earn more tips.

Let us look at the estimated date of delivery. Version 1 hopes to be done before the end of the year. This gives the developer almost 5 months to work on it, given they started at the same time as the news broke. And I actually think 5 months should be enough time, so I think they basically started the development on the app around the same time as the news hit.

And with the goal of only having the first version ready. I would say it is probably more of a Beta test plus then. Or they have very ambitious features planned and want to take the development in stages.

What will the app do

From the information, it is clear that the app will be its own thing and not just an extension of the web Publish0x. The app will also have its own economy or tip incentive, this will also be separate from the website.

There will also be some sort of post highlight feature in the app. I assume something similar to how the front page works right now. And there will be some sort of selection mechanism that picks posts and put them there. Just like with the front page now. The last part is however interesting, "with this the authors will earn more tips". They could just be implying that due to more exposure pore people will tip the post, ergo you will earn more. But they could also imply there is a bonus of sort to post that gets picked and featured in the app.

My thoughts or speculations if you will

I think the app will work in a similar way as the subcommunities on Hive work. They have a separate economy while still being part of the larger Hive community. And by separate economy, I do not mean there will be a new Publish0x token. Just you get a separate tip pot if you are on the app compared to the website. But a token could be a definite possibility down the line.

I do however think that this is a play made by Publish0x to widen their base and try and attract non-crypto bloggers. And what I mean by that is if you look at Hive or some of the other bigger blogs and earn crypto sites they have a large non-crypto community. There are lots of posts with just a few pictures and some text, or reviews of movies or music.

And I think these are the users they want to target with the app. And my reason for thinking this is fairly simple. Just take your phone and type an 800-word post and you will either get carpal tunnel in your hands or you have to buy a new phone because you destroyed your current one in frustration.

My point being an app is more suited for shorter types of content, and probably more picture-oriented content.

While the crypto community might start off as the dominant community, if the app is successful we will probably be just one of the communities, and probably only in the top 10 in size. Just like on Hive or the other platforms.

But I do not see this as a bad thing, just saying unless there was any doubt. I see it as a way for the new members to find the crypto community here on Publish0x and make the transition from app only to using both. Just like I think many here will make the transition and use both. And a larger community just means more opportunities for content contributors.

A larger community means there will be more room for niched content. Something that is not always possible here, not if you want to attract a larger audience anyway. And a larger community will also mean new potential for people to earn more tips for the posts.

What are your thoughts on the new companion app? Please share them in the comment section down below.

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