Introduction to Idea Explorer Series
This is the beginning of my new entrepreneurship series. My friends 
Idea Explorer will go into the details of a particular idea, and explore what type of attention the idea would receive and whether or not it would be impactful in a positive manner to the community as well as touch on the software development side of things. In this first edition of Idea Explorer I will be exploring a Steem Based Instagram.
The Case for a Steem Based Instagram (SBI)
A lot of us use Instagram, there is no doubt about that. According to a 2016 report on Instagram usage statistics over 40 billion photos have been shared on Instagram, 80 million photos are shared and Instagram usage has doubled in the last two years [1]. Despite its success, Instagram does have its shortcomings for example, the most popular photo on Instagram is a photo of Kendall Jenner that has 3.5 million likes [1]. Quality photographical content often gets overlooked and those with overwhelming fame get put in the spotlight.
#Photography is one of the top five most trending categories on Steemit. By creating a dedicated Instagram for the Steem community, it will be easy for photographers to immortalize their content on the blockchain with the added benefit of getting paid for it through Steem. A SBI would function similarly to Steemit.com, yet would differ in that it would only show photographical content.
Photo Categories and Tagging
One of the positive externalities of creating an SBI would be a greater level of granularity in photo categories than can be seen on Steemit. For example, right now if I were to post just a nature image to Steemit I would post it under the photography and nature categories. In a hypothetical SBI I would only need to tag nature if I wanted to curate this photograph under the nature category. If I see another Steemit user in these photos I could also optionally tag them in the photo similar to tagging on Facebook, this would serve as a means for identity verification that has been quite elusive to Steemit.
Development and Project Management
In the past I have written heavily in favor of utilizing React and React Native to build mobile and web applications. A SBI would not be an exception. With the amount of realtime photographic data streaming into existence, React would be a great option because of its one way data binding.
I am a strong supporter of open source projects and was quite delighted to hear the news when Steemit.com became open sourced. Therefore this SBI would be completely open sourced and would be created with the aid of the community. Open sourcing a project like this would have various benefits:
- Security : Open sourced code can be reviewed multiple times to look for holes and can be patched quickly.
- Educational value: Open sourcing the code to an SBI would provide the opportunity for new developers looking to contribute to the Steem ecosystem an opportunity to contribute.
- Verification of progress: An open sourced application would provide verification of progress on the project.
Popularity of a Open Sourced SBI
As I noted earlier, #Photography is one of the most popular categories on Steemit. A SBI would carve out a niche application for frequent posters of this category, and would promote users to post their own images to an SBI. If the SBI had a web application, users could even embed their uploaded photos into their blog posts on Steemit to enjoy double exposure of their images and content.
As prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space and other areas join the Steemit network an SBI application would fuel the growth of Steem as a whole.
Positive Impact to the Community
A SBI would have a positive impact on the community in that it would make the barrier to entry for a user into the cryptocurrency space even smaller. Now all one needs is a phone camera and the ability to download an app from the Google Play or App Store to enter the cryptocurrency space, that's it. I know many users that are far more interested in photography than they are in writing, so an SBI would be perfect for them.
A SBI Public API
If a SBI were to open up their Application Programming Interface (API) to developers it would fuel the development of a ton of useful tools and features. Imagine a tool that when a user takes a picture with their DSLR camera it would automatically create a post to their SBI account, there is a ton of potential for cool applications to be made from an SBI Public API interface.
Conclusion
The concept of an Instagram that implements the Steem blockchain is definitely an intriguing idea and should be pursued by developers. In the future I am hopeful that support for the development of projects like this will aid in a higher quality incentivizing experience for avid photographers.
References
- BrandWatch.com Instagram Statistics URL: https://www.brandwatch.com/2016/05/37-instagram-stats-2016/ Retrieved on August 16, 2016.