Designing and developing LeoThreads has been quite the journey. We've gone through so many different iterations in terms of designing and implementing various features.
If you've been a regular Threads user, then you'll already have noticed some MAJOR performance improvements over the past week. We released what is essentially a rebuilt version of the Threads Engine which controls how content is retrieved and stored on the Hive Blockchain.
This update to the Threads Engine has radically improved the user experience. If you used Threads prior to the past week and haven't tried it recently, I highly recommend loading it and seeing the difference. We managed to shave the loading speed down from 30 seconds-2 Minutes to 3-5 seconds... It's a radical improvement, to say the least.
The new Threads Engine also brings a number of other enhancements - one major one being that we removed our reliance on Hive-Engine to load Threads content. This is a change that will slowly be migrated to the blogging aspect of LeoFinance as well.
When Hive-Engine is down, APIs aren't loading, scotbot issues, etc. the UI normally goes completely offline. Content won't load and you won't see any blog posts.
This new update changes that for Threads. The Threads Engine will hold it's own copy of all the blockchain data and still show Threads even when Hive-Engine is down. It will also display a little "Hive Engine is Down" notification in the bottom right corner of each Thread. You'll notice that this message replaces the upvote button: since the APIs being down will inhibit certain features. We'll get into this segmented development setup later in this post.
My Threads
We've added one of the most highly requested features: My Threads.
I'm sure people will find a creative way to use this feature, it's much more powerful than it may seem on the surface.
Prior to this release (the new feature launched today), you had to dig through old Threads to find things that you had previously published.
Why would you care to find Threads that you published? There a wide variety of reasons. I would say the #1 reason to want to look through your recent / old threads published from your Hive account would be to respond to people who left a reply on one of your older Threads.
This is a common practice on blog posts and also on Web2 Microblogging (Twitter).
To release this feature, we had to do a bunch of backend and frontend work to make it possible. It works like magic on the frontend but the backend is scraping a whole bunch of data and collecting it neatly for you to load.
You can visit "My Threads" by hitting the Profile icon in the top right and then select "Threads" right next to "Blog" on your profile page!
I've been playing with this feature a lot and it's definitely a multi-fold improvement in terms of engaging with people on Threads that you've posted, enjoy!
User Threads
Viewing your own threads is a fantastic way to engage with people who have been engaging with you... what if you want to dig through someone else's profile history and see what they've been Threading about and replying to?
Now you can! Visit their Profile page and hit "Threads" next to "Blog" in the menu.
You can see what they're creating as top-level Threads and as you can see in this image, you can also view what they're replying to within the Threads platform.
Jump into the conversation by clicking on any Thread!
You can also quick reply by hitting the little Comment icon on the bottom left of any Thread to open a pop-up reply window.
New Threads Backend
The backend for Threads was completely rewritten. This is how we achieved the 10x improvement in loading speed.
If you had been using Threads prior to the past week, you'll notice a VASTLY improved User Experience. It's incredible to see how this new setup performs in the real-world.
This goes to a much broader point about Threads: Open Beta.
Threads is in Open Beta and it's extremely important that we get as much testing done as possible.
All of your testing and feedback is how we rapidly release new features, bug fixes and performance improvements like this one.
We built Threads in an echo chamber for 18 months. This allowed us to get a lot of backend work done and infrastructure built but now we've moved on to the key step of releasing, getting feedback, iterating quickly and repeating this process relentlessly.
The new backend is a testament to how much further we can push Threads to create the best Web3 microblogging experience on the planet.
I believe we're well on our way to achieving this. Through hard work, feedback and community support to grow Threads, we'll make something truly special.
In the coming months and years, Threads will become one of the largest Web3 Social Media platforms in the world. It lives as an extension of LeoFinance but watch as it takes hold of the entire platform and radically reshapes what it means to be a LeoFinance Lion 🦁
About LeoFinance
LeoFinance is a blockchain-based Web3 community that builds innovative applications on the Hive, BSC, ETH and Polygon blockchains. Our flagship application: LeoFinance.io allows users and creators to engage and share content on the blockchain while earning cryptocurrency rewards.
Our mission is to put Web3 in the palm of your hands.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FinanceLeo
Discord: https://discord.gg/E4jePHe
Whitepaper: https://whitepaper.leofinance.io
Our Hive Applications
Join Web3: https://leofinance.io/
Microblog on Hive: https://leofinance.io/threads
LeoMobile (IOS): https://testflight.apple.com/join/cskYPK1a
LeoMobile (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.leofi.mobile
Delegate HIVE POWER: Earn 16% APR, Paid Daily. Currently @ 2.8M HP
Hivestats: https://hivestats.io
LeoDex: https://leodex.io
LeoFi: https://leofi.io
BSC HBD (bHBD): https://wleo.io/hbd-bsc/
BSC HIVE (bHIVE): https://wleo.io/hive-bsc/
Earn 50%+ APR on HIVE/HBD: https://cubdefi.com/farms
Web3 & DeFi
Web3 is about more than social media. It encompasses a personal revolution in financial awareness and data ownership. We've merged the two with our Social Apps and our DeFi Apps:
CubFinance (BSC): https://cubdefi.com
PolyCUB (Polygon): https://polycub.com
Multi-Token Bridge (Bridge HIVE, HBD, LEO): https://wleo.io