Wouldn't it be nice if we could organize our posts into topic folders on our blog page? If you are like me and manage multiple accounts, wouldn't it be nice to be able to switch accounts by having an account switcher drop down menu, that most browsers are already set up for with auto-save password features? Both of these simple features would provide a much better experience for every Steemit user, and ultimately influence many more people to join the platform.
My account was created in 2016, and I started actively posting early this year (2018). In all the time I have been using Steemit, I have only noticed ONE upgrade to the platform, which apparently happened recently. This upgrade created little Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Linkedin share icons at the bottom right corner of every Steemit post, so you can more easily share your and other's Steemit posts on alternate social media platforms. We should not be giving free advertising for these competing platforms, they are doing no such thing for us here.
Additionally, I do not find these new buttons more convenient at all, as I would rather do these things manually, but I do understand the thinking behind this type of integration. Unfortunately Facebook has preset algorithms to ghost posts with Steemit links in them, so at least that particular button is essentially obsolete. The only way to get around their ghosting is to reference that you are posting a link AS your Facebook post, and then leave the link itself in the comments of that post. However, it is only a matter of time before Facebook figures this out, and upgrades their restriction algorithms for comments as well. I cannot speak on Twitter, Reddit, and Linkedin, as I do not use those platforms, but I am interested if anyone has had similar experiences sharing their Steemit links on those platforms as well. Please comment if so.
I was sitting here contemplating additional ways we can develop this platform in a manor that will influence more people to join, and that got me thinking about what would make my Steemit experience better for me personally. This mindset created a lightning bolt that struck me in the head with two powerful ideas I have been thinking about for a while, but have never grounded in a Steemit post to ask for help in actually accomplishing these developments.
My buddy's passionfruit flower I photographed today
Imagine instead of clicking on someone's blog and either trying to guess what they are completely about by their short description and recent posts, or scrolling down through infinity, that you would see several folders with an image and name on each one representing each topic/subtopic that each Steemian writes about. Of course you should still be able to see the last seven most recent posts, but then all posts beyond that (and even including the recent posts as well) should be organized into these clickable folders. After you get into a folder, then the blog would appear as normal chronologically, but only posts selected to be within that topic. Before you make a post, there may even be a selection menu or pop-up, asking you which folder you want you post to go into after publication.
I call this idea SUB-BLOGS. These topic folders or sub-blogs (sublogs ha!) would be completely customizable, and allow you to set the name, image, and possibly sub-folders for each folder, if the topics are diverse enough and the platform can support such intricacies. I figure there will have to be some kind of limit on the amount of sublogs someone can have, lets say ten, since many Steemians are like me, and enjoy creating content for a plethora of topics.
The whole Passionfruit plant with netting strung
The number one thing I do not like is trying to find a particular post from more than a month ago, whether it be mine, or someone elses. I usually have to resort to running a google search to solve this issue, but it would be a whole lot more convenient, and make the platform look a whole lot better, if this feature is implemented. It would actually change the face of the platform entirely, and really make people start looking at Steemit with more open eyes. Sometimes a little aesthetic alteration and extra functionality is all it takes to get people interested, this is the same thinking behind the clickable share icons recently implemented.
Every suggestion I have made to a Steemian to implement into their project(s) has been accepted, or Steemians have copied things I have done that were successful/original, and then became more successful themselves as a result. I know when I have a good idea, and this is one of them. This SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
One of my buddy's Hibiscus Flowers
My second idea involves taking note of Google's recent upgrade to give users the ability to switch between accounts faster and more easily, and will be convenient for more experienced Steem users. Instead of taking you to a separate page like Google's update now does when you use this feature, it would leave you on your current page and automatically refresh it so you can vote and comment on the alternate account freely, without having to click or navigate further.
Say you want to vote on something with more than one account. Currently, you must first vote, log out, click to log in, click which account you want to switch to, log back in, refresh the page, and then scroll to cast your second vote. That is six clicks, some wait time, and manual labor (so to speak). If my suggestion is implemented, it will take this process down to two clicks, and eliminate the labor and some waiting.
You know that little drop down menu when you click your profile image at the top right corner of every Steemit page you see when logged in? I am proposing that another column be added to that drop down menu, that will say "Switch Accounts". If you hover your mouse over this feature it will bring you to each account that is active on your browser, and interface with your browser's auto-save password feature (like it already does now). Clicking on any of your accounts would automatically log you out of your current account, log you back in to the selected alternate account, and refresh the page for you. This eliminates so much unnecessary nonsense for Steemit users, and will ultimately be appreciated by everyone who manages multiple accounts, and everyone who will in the future.
I do have a third idea about interfacing Discord into the actual Steemit platform, since it is so widely used by Steemit users as the main Steemit messaging chat, however I realize that we are a little far off from this kind of a feature, and Steemit will likely create their own version of this eventually. This will cause a split however, as people will not so easily abandon their well established Discord servers. I still vote we integrate Discord into the platform over a custom Steemit chat service inside the platform, but what would be better is still up for debate.
I know Steemit is in the process of upgrading to using SMT's, however upgrading the platform itself in ways that I have suggested is much more important for attracting new members, and keeping old ones. To be fair though, I am not very familiar with SMT's yet, so I will give that upgrade the benefit of the doubt until I am better educated on the subject.
Please let me know your thoughts on my Steemit upgrade ideas in the comments, especially if you have a way to get this information to the right people, so that something can actually be done about it. Thank you for reading, and hopefully we will see my ideas come to life on this platform in the near future.
Blessings everyone & stay tuned - into the right frequencies
How pretty are my buddy's flowers!?
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