It seems it was only a week ago since the last content vertical launched on the Steem blockchain and in recent months this phenomenon has continued to pick up pace and spout alternative interfaces out, content vertical after content vertical.
With the entry of newest kid on the block, Steepshot, the Steem blockchain now is home to a Youtube alternative, a Souncloud alternative, a Twitter alternative and now also an Instagram alternative.
Steepshot was created by the mostly Belarussia based team around Vitali Horba (
While we could write hundreds of words easily about Steepshot and its functionality, let's simplify it and say things as they are: Steepshot is the Instagram clone of the Steem blockchain. Visually similar in style, currently Steepshot does nothing more than display images posted through the platform.
This in a very basic approach as well, even maintaining the usual Steemit-typical Trending/Hot/New navigation options and nothing more. The site even doesn't make any effort to hide the compulsorily inserted #steepshot tag from its landing and feed pages. The app offers no photo filters either (yet).
Now we got the bad out of the way let's focus on what is great instead. First and foremost, right now Steepshot is all about uploading and displaying photos. Offering a welcome new, more limited content browsing experience around photos to Steemians.
While doing that, Steepshot does the right thing and asks only for a user's posting key. The simplicity of the platform right now is a blessing because too many interfaces currently try to fix everything. Steepshot not, Steepshot even doesn't make an effort to include a wallet (not yet at this alpha point).
Like most other interfaces, Steepshot also inserts a tag to each post made through its website and takes a commission, although in Steepshot's case the latter is limited to only 10%. We feel that 10% is much better than the more common 15% or even 25%.
While users may regret the ability to already be able to use Steepshot as a stand-alone platform on the Steem blockchain, the team decided to approach things differently and wanting to become a media/photo platform for Steem they did focus on the launch of mobile apps for both Android and iOS.
Sadly enough we ourselves, mactards we are, weren't able to test the mobile app since we are Apple-exclusive (currently - feel free to bash us!) and the iOS app is so far only released within the Belorussian app store. A functional alpha version of the Android app is available to be downloaded from Google Play. Horba told us that the international iOS version is pending Apple's approval and a new Android update will soon be released as well.
We understand that this is a current alpha version and the launch is a soft launch as well but at times the app feels slightly too Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and rushed out to us here at theSteemobserver. Especially, given the otherwise awesome landing page made for the app's homepage. In a brief Telegram chat, Horba told us that many fixes are still planned to be deployed in the near future, such as the website's responsiveness, wallet integration and possibly, in 2018, a move towards a SMT base configuration.
With the early launch the Steepshot team could benefit a first mover but, of course, in the tech scene that also carries a risk. The risk that somebody else will clone it [in 3, 2, 1...] and manages to gather more traction.
We hope that the @Steepshot team can overcome its earliest bugs and will often ship improvements, very fast, because being first can bring massive additional mileage on the Steem Blockchain. We are sure many Steemians will eagerly adopt a photo posting and browsing app. Their own Instagram. Steepshot is a step in the right direction already.
Steemians willing to put up with few bugs and lacking features should most definitely give Steepshot's alpha a go!