As most of you know, I'm working hard on making Snapie the friendliest and most fun app I can build. My goal these days is a little crazy, but I think I have good reasons to aim for the stars.
In my mind, as long as we're asking people to download three different apps, learn about keys, learn about this, learn about that, we're always going to end up with lukewarm users who disappear after a day or two. The first sign of friction is often enough to lose someone forever. That's why I keep coming back to the same conclusion. Friction simply can't be allowed to make an appearance. One app needs to be able to do almost everything. It should only take that one experience for someone to understand what Hive is capable of.
Of course, that also means I'm going to make mistakes. I'll probably think I've solved an algorithm when I'm completely off the mark. I have a feeling the trending algorithm is going to be my cross to bear for a very long time, but that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to revisit it, tweak it, or replace it entirely if I discover a better approach.
The mobile app has been falling behind lately, but that's actually by design. I've been experimenting on Snapie.io first, trying ideas, watching how people interact with them, and seeing what sticks. I didn't know whether people would enjoy collectibles or Snapie Points. I hoped they would, but hope isn't evidence. Until people actually used them, all I had was a gut feeling.
Thankfully, that gut feeling seems to have been pointing in the right direction.
Snapie Points are making their way into the mobile app as well. Naturally, that means a leaderboard needs to exist there too, along with support for displaying mood badges. That's only the beginning, but it's an important step toward making the mobile experience feel just as alive as the website.
The biggest challenge ahead is probably Google sign in. My coding buddy, Claudius Maximus the Minimus, reminded me that if I add Google login to the iOS app, Apple will likely insist that I also offer Sign in with Apple. I'm not opposed to adding it, and honestly I probably should anyway, but it's one more thing on the list before I can call the feature complete.
As always, I'm thinking out loud while laying down another few bricks. Snapie is slowly becoming the application I've always wanted Hive to have. It's taking longer than I expected, but every update gets it a little closer.
Thanks to everyone who continues to support this crazy man.
MenO