The new Leofinance has been up for some days now. I guess nobody missed it and it won't be a news to any of you. Yet, this change made me wonder about the path taken by LeoFinance.
Clearly, the goal is to make the Web3 Twitter. The idea is quite good, as I think that if we want to increase Hive adoption and conversion, we should provide the web2 users with equivalent solutions. My first doubt arises when I see the current state of Twitter. Twitter seems to be losing users. They are not really leaving, but just using it less than before. At the same time, we saw an increase in Mastodon users, but it does not seem to be a perfect transfer. My thought is that, maybe, the short message trend is slowly going down. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not, but this is a genuine concern for the future of Leo Threads.
So, the new UI is out, it's fancy and nice. Like any new UI. Yet, we've lost features, we lost the LeoFinance website as we used to know it. Full-sized posts are nowhere to be found. Settings are still in development. The website is slow. I have nothing but respect for the developers, and the point is not against the LeoFinance developers, but against the IT community as a whole. I've seen so many applications and websites teasing their new version, completely rewritten, with a brand new UI, just to be disappointed to find out that the key functionality that I was fond of disappeared in the process. "Maybe we'll put it back in the next release". It's dangerous! You lose users! They will go find that other app that had 90% of your last version's features but now has 200%. This recalls me of the Gnome 3 disaster on Linux.
So, How many users will LeoFinance lose in the process?
Where will the hardcore finance posters go, you know, those who write massive articles?
I also think that the name "LeoFinance" could be detrimental to a massive adoption by newcomers. You know, the "Finance" part? Maybe, keeping the old LeoFinance website as it was, and creating a brand new "LeoThreads" website could have been a more "readable" choice.
Just imagine trying to invite a friend on Hive :
My last concern is not specific to LeoFinance, but to Hive in general.
How to convince your friend to invest in Hive? I know you can create an account without investing money. But you need to invest a small amount of money just to post and make more. The process can be tedious for many, as you need to buy hive somewhere on a crypto trading site, transfer it, etc... I talked with many friends and colleagues, trying to bring them to Hive and this was always the main problem driving them away.
So, is it a good or a bad idea? Frankly, I don't know. I'm neither a marketer nor a social media specialist. That's just some fears I have concerning the Leo Thread's adventure. I sincerely hope and wish they will succeed to attract more users to Hive! We, as a community, need fresh blood. By the way, this is the first time I post about my feelings and concerns regarding the Hive community.
And you, what's your opinion?
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