Today I talked a little bit to Joel, the founder of Openbook via their workspace on slack and here are some...
Today I talked a little bit to Joel, the founder of Openbook via their workspace on slack and here are some interesting quotes from that talk for you:
Joel
Very good answer. Reason I’m asking is because we’ve changed so much in the behaviour of the social network that it seems we have 2 options. We polish the mobile app to great length and release the web app a month or 2 later or we get the mobile to the core features and bring the web version to the same level of functionality.
Cyrill Kunze
When it's time to migrate it's easier to manage all these things on a desktop. Looking for the people you know on a new network, reconfigure your "circles", try to find and follow what you have before... These things are hard to manage on a little screen. If I have to make a decision, I would release the mobile and web app at the same time with the core features you need. At the beginning of a network it's easier to say "These features are comming, we work on it" instead of "Here is a perfect mobile app for you, but you can't use the network on the device you prefer."
Joel
Well, it’s been very insightful Cyrill. Thanks for taking the time to chat! We’ll do what we discussed and work on getting the web version up and running to the same specs of the mobile app ASAP. :-)
Cyrill Kunze
Thinking forward the most difficult thing will be your planned blockchain and not to annoy people with that. I can't believe that a blockchain is that thing to finance a network. A good implementation of that will be the a and o. And further ways to support the network you love. For me I have no problems to spend some euros for the network monthly, but I know thats not the way for the most people.
Joel
Full disclosure, for now we’re looking into other ways to keep the project alive. We’re looking into making it possible for people to become supporters for 1.99 Eur p/month in exchange for some extra small goodies. For example, creating custom themes rather than using pre-made ones, extra reactions and things like that.
Our team is quite small, and really we aim to make it an open-source driven thing, so having just a couple of supporters could keep us going indefinetely
Cyrill Kunze
Sounds great. I would be right there.
Joel
The currency part will take time. We’ve spoken to some investors already and we really don’t like this becoming a merely capitalistic venture.. therefore we want to be able to survive on our own.
Thanks Cyrill. Much appreciated
Joel
Very good answer. Reason I’m asking is because we’ve changed so much in the behaviour of the social network that it seems we have 2 options. We polish the mobile app to great length and release the web app a month or 2 later or we get the mobile to the core features and bring the web version to the same level of functionality.
Cyrill Kunze
When it's time to migrate it's easier to manage all these things on a desktop. Looking for the people you know on a new network, reconfigure your "circles", try to find and follow what you have before... These things are hard to manage on a little screen. If I have to make a decision, I would release the mobile and web app at the same time with the core features you need. At the beginning of a network it's easier to say "These features are comming, we work on it" instead of "Here is a perfect mobile app for you, but you can't use the network on the device you prefer."
Joel
Well, it’s been very insightful Cyrill. Thanks for taking the time to chat! We’ll do what we discussed and work on getting the web version up and running to the same specs of the mobile app ASAP. :-)
Cyrill Kunze
Thinking forward the most difficult thing will be your planned blockchain and not to annoy people with that. I can't believe that a blockchain is that thing to finance a network. A good implementation of that will be the a and o. And further ways to support the network you love. For me I have no problems to spend some euros for the network monthly, but I know thats not the way for the most people.
Joel
Full disclosure, for now we’re looking into other ways to keep the project alive. We’re looking into making it possible for people to become supporters for 1.99 Eur p/month in exchange for some extra small goodies. For example, creating custom themes rather than using pre-made ones, extra reactions and things like that.
Our team is quite small, and really we aim to make it an open-source driven thing, so having just a couple of supporters could keep us going indefinetely
Cyrill Kunze
Sounds great. I would be right there.
Joel
The currency part will take time. We’ve spoken to some investors already and we really don’t like this becoming a merely capitalistic venture.. therefore we want to be able to survive on our own.
Thanks Cyrill. Much appreciated
Any project that even mentions the word blockchain in regards to funding is suspect in my book. Might as well say it is going to be funded from lottery winnings, as soon as they choose the winning number.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this interview is also interesting for you Brian Holt Hawthorne:
ReplyDeletehttps://medium.com/openbook-org/so-how-will-openbook-make-money-daf99589643d
For now and the nearer future we have the option to support them with coding, help to localize and other things that are benefits of an open source project. So better that works, there is less need for things like a blockhain.
Cyrill Kunze So, essentially, OpenBook is going to be funded by taking a cut of transactions conducted through the site. I’m not exactly clear why creating a new “currency” is necessary (or even advisable). I for one am unlikely to trade hard-earned USA dollars for play money issued by a startup that has exactly zero experience in banking, finance, or money supply management.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see in the quotes from my post they haven't take a decision yet how the network can and will be financed. And I think at this point there is no need for that decision because it's to early. I'm not a friend of crypto currencies and when the network can be financed with optional monthly subscriptions or something like that, I'm happy with this.
ReplyDeleteCyrill Kunze I was responding to the “interview” that you posted, where the founder sure sounds like he has made up his mind. Or was that just so much marketing bullshit and not actual truth?
ReplyDeleteI think the interview is more like how such a currency could work. And that's more sympathetic as the things I know about the blockchain from the network Minds. The conversation from my post sounds more like We will see how it works when Openbook is launched and there are other/more options to the explained tip system
ReplyDeleteFor my own Openbook is actual the most promising and ambitious alternative to G+. Next year we will see if this was just hope.