At the beginning of this year, I started a blog series which sought to bring to light my experiences on several dApps on the blockchain. I titled the series 'Steem Trek' and it was a great journey indeed. I talked about projects I knew about and I delved into new projects in the process. Well, I had to end the series due to some complications. Those complications have since been resolved though, and I might continue the series. But, I'm not so sure about that. During the course of the series, I reviewed an amazing project that has been on the blockchain for a long time now. It was sort of extinct due to negligence, but it is up and running again. The project is; 'Steemgigs'. Steemgigs wouldn't be seen as a new phenomenon amongst older individuals on the Steem Blockchain. We've seen the project blossom, we've witnessed its extinction, and now, we are witnessing its rebirth. A lot has changed since my last review of the platform. The most recent development is the addition of a wallet to the platform. In this article, I will talk about all the noticeable and recent changes that have occurred since my last review.
Review of the changes in Steemgigs since my last review.
I will skip unnecessary rants and go straight to the review of changes that have occurred on Steemgigs since my last review. We have 
Without further ado, let's delve into the review.
Steemgigs landing page.
Last month, Steemgigs had it's landing page redesigned. The new design wasn't a total overhaul of the previous design. The fonts and colours used in the previous design were maintained. The changes I noticed were the reorganization, and, the addition of certain sections on the page. Oh! I noticed new vector arts too.
So, what's really changed? To be honest, I will say nothing really changed; in terms of design. But in terms of content on the page, there are significant changes. There is more information on the page now than before. This information is very essential. With the information provided on the landing page, prospective consumers(end-users) would know everything they need to know about the platform. And that's the basic importance of a landing page. The tutorial section on the landing page will hit the nail on the head in terms of teaching users how to use the platform.
However, that section of the landing page hasn't really been developed. It lacks content. It was duly specified by the project owner that that part is coming soon. I hope it comes really soon.
Another interesting section on the landing page which wasn't available in the old design is the; 'BROPRO' section. Bropro is actually an entirely new thing on Steemgigs. I'm yet to grasp the Bropro idea fully, but I will share a few words about it later on in this article.
To summarize; In my last review, I commended the design of the landing page. But, I also said it was basic. In that case, the landing page was basic in terms of design and content. The new landing page still looks basic in terms of design. But in terms of content, I will give it a thumbs up. I still think the design needs to be upgraded. Instead of vector images, the page could be designed with real images without copyright. I'd love to see a new colour scheme other than white and blue. The current colour scheme makes the page look a little bit empty. In terms of landing pages, Utopian remains the best for me.
The screenshot above is the landing page of Utopian colony. At first glance, even without reading the content, I'm already interested in what they have to offer. Aside content, the graphics of a landing page needs to be topnotch. Steemgigs design isn't bad, it isn't great either. I'd love for them to do more. Oh! lest I forget, the Steemgigs icon needs a total overhaul too.
Aside from the new landing page design, there is the addition of new features/functionalities. They are;
Micro task.
Micro task wasn't on the dropdown menu of things I could create on Steemgigs, in my last review of the platform. From the title, I already had basic knowledge about what Micro tasks would be. However, in the description, it is described as something basic;
You can build aspects of your dream by creating a microtask. A microtask can take different forms. In most cases, participants are required to carry out a simple action e.g join a telegram, subscribe to my YouTube, leave a feedback on my post etc You can pay with SBD, Steem, Steem Power or with a Steem Upvote.
I think micro-tasks on a platform such as Steemgigs is meant for great things. Just like the Knackstore idea I proposed for Knacksteem. Micro-tasks can be likened to task requests on Utopian. I wish to get a job done, I broadcast my intention via a post, the job gets done, and then reward the individual. It's as simple as that. The idea is great and I like it. Freelancers will be able to connect with clients faster this way.
Bropro.
So I said I was going to talk about this, but honestly, I really don't know how to go about it. Here's how it is described;
BROPRO allows you to exchange teardrops token for more than 'just talent', these ones are un(dis)talented brothers (sisters included) who actually want to play a role in historical history, by helping you through the process of building your dreams.
What I could understand(from the description) is that users can put up their talents or skills up for hire. Which I think is the basic idea of Steemgigs as a platform. But the difference, in this case, is that; teardrops(Steemgigs official token) is the only token that can be exchanged for talent.
After checking out this feature thoroughly, I find a striking semblance between Bropro and Knacksteem's 'Knackstore'. They are literally the same thing. The idea of Knackstore is that people put out their talent, or a product of their talent up for sale and get paid in Knack tokens(Knacksteem's official token). Unfortunately, there hasn't been any word about when the Knackstore would be set up on Knacksteem. I can't say Steemgigs borrowed the idea, but I like the fact that they implemented it.
On Knacksteem, the plan of the Knackstore was that every community member would have access to it. That is, any community member could put up their Knack for sale. But on Steemgigs, it is different. I looked for a way to put up my service on the Bropro page but didn't find any way to do that. I guess that section is for a selected group of people. I'm not sure that's the plan though. Maybe it'll be open for everyone in the feature. But I can only hope.
Ability to edit user profile.
This is a basic feature, but I yearned for it anyway. In my previous review, I talked about this feature, and I'm glad it has been implemented. However, I was expecting it to be integrated into the settings page. It doesn't matter where it is though, so far the feature/function is available.
There are more details users can personalize on this page(edit profile page). Most of them are personalized to Steemgigs. This means that those details won't be available on other Steem based app.
Wallet.
It's great for every Steem based app to have steem wallets on their platforms. It is important in terms of convenience, and also in terms of the platform being an independent entity. Steemgigs now has a wallet on its platform. It offers the basic functions of a steem wallet. The wallet also houses teardrops(Steemgigs token). Some advanced functions are not yet implemented though. That is;
- power down/cancel power down.
- delegation.
- estimated amount.
- teardrops power up.
I'm expecting the implementation of these missing functions soon.
There you have it. My review of the changes that have happened since my previous review. There may have been more changes, but these are the ones that were noticeable.
In my older review, I made some suggestions that would cause the improvement of the platform. I was hoping the project owner will read the article and maybe try to act on it. However, there was no response. I'll be making those same suggestions in this article. In fact, I'll be copying the same content from the previous article to this one.
Suggestions & where improvements can be made.
The first suggestion I will be making is directed towards the UI of the platform. Like I said in my review, the user interface is quite basic. Not bad, but basic. It will be great if other colours were added to the current colour scheme. Animated slides and catchy phrases adorned in fancy fonts would be cool too. I know how attracted I'm to apps with an amazing user interface, and, I'm certain this effect doesn't affect me only. Furthermore, Steemgigs needs a new logo. The current logo, in my opinion, is of a low class.
My second suggestion may lead to a total overhaul of the platform. I don't know how feasible it is to implement this feature. I imagined if there was a peculiar profile page on Steemgigs where users can advertise their gig, portfolio, and hiring price. This way, users wouldn't have to create a gig every time. If someone needs their services, he just checks out the category and browse through the portfolios of all the freelancers in that category and makes his choice. Another way this can be implemented is if there is a time frame a user's gig can be displayed on the feed. Gigs older than a month should not be shown on the feed. Then a user is eligible to create a new one. This way, it shows the freelancer is active. Right now, with the way the platform works, freelancers will have to constantly advertise their gigs and this may be considered spamming. Personally, if my idea was feasible, it would have been good, if the platform functioned in that manner.
If the idea of a personalized profile isn't bought, and users will still have to constantly create gigs, it would be great if they weren't forced to meet certain post requirements. Let them create their gigs in their best possible way. I like the idea of different content segments though, so that can remain.
My third and final suggestion is about how to influence the platform so it becomes very active again. I know the platform in its current state isn't standard for use. But it's not too early to start putting a word out there about the platform. I don't know how the project owner plans to make the platform active again, but I know social media campaigns on the blockchain and off the blockchain will have a tangible effect on the platform. Social media campaigns off the blockchain will yield tangible results especially if it's targeted to freelancers. The idea of a free platform will surely thrill them. For this to be done faster, the project owner could create a contest with a reasonable amount of reward. The task will be to spread word about Steemgigs both on the blockchain and any other form of social media. Imagine a scenario where over 50 to 100 persons are bombarding social media with one common subject. It is bound to be recognized.
Those are my suggestions for the platform. Hopefully, the project owner gets to read this post.
Summary.
I expressed my excitement about the resurrection of this project 3 months ago. I'm still excited. And even more excited than I was 3 months ago. This platform, when it's fully operational and buzzing with people, will be of great benefits to me as a freelancer. Oh! and other freelancers as well. With continuous development going on, I can say Steemgigs is really back.
Thanks for reading!
Links
Project repository: https://github.com/steemgigs/steemgigs
Project link: https://steemgigs.org
Resources:
- The images used in this article are screenshots from my and mobile phone. Other images used, are properly sourced.
- [Steem Gigs] Add Wallet to Steem Gigs
- [Steem Gigs] Landing Page Redesign (Build) & Category Preview Component