The method I prefer most when posting to Steemit is from my laptop or desktop.
I love my keyboard shortcuts, and when properly motivated, I can really put my thoughts together fast from my desk. But, like I'm sure many of you here can also relate, I am many times AFK and just want to take a moment to post some of my thoughts without having to be chained to my desk.
And, as I'm sure many of you also can relate, posting on Steemit from a mobile device is just a gigantic pain in the ass.
Just yesterday, I was cursing my phone trying to input memorized markdown shortcuts and fumbling through multiple browser windows attempting to get all of my links in line. Just having a thought about making this post right now is taking me almost a half hour to complete to a level I believe is "Steemit acceptable". And I've been here for a year.
Imagine how this must feel for a new user!
Imagine Newb McSteemian not having markdown memorized and not really knowing how to make a headline or a bullet point list. You probably just gloss over their post because it looks weird and they walk away with a terrible user experience.
Sure, there are many excellent authors and curators around here promoting content that will educate users on how to make great posts. And, we have a great image import feature. I just don't think it's enough of an onboarding process for a new user.
But we have a mobile app, you might say!
Sure, we have eSteem for mobile devices. Just like Reddit had Alien Blue. Key emphasis on the word had. I'm guessing they changed strategies to make an official app to make sure users didn't have to follow a series of initial instructions or do som extra research to make sure they had the right app that connected with the right service.
Look, I seriously love this place. And just like anything I love, I love seeing it grow and be better over time. These are the things I think Steemit could instantly do to make the mobile experience improve as a whole:
1) Make markdown something the user has no idea about at all
Why not adopt a Medium style of text entry and have users make lists, bold, or italicize without making them interact with the "man behind the curtain"?
2) Insert a place for saved signatures.
Here is mine:
I love doing this from my desktop because I have it saved in a markup friendly editor. But, from mobile, I go to a previous post, click edit, copy my signature markup, and paste it at the end of my post.
Couldn't we save our signature for automatic entry at the end of every one of our posts? And, while I'm at it...
3) Saved Templates
It sure would be nice if I could save a template so I don't have to reinvent the wheel every time I would like to share a thought. I would gladly spend an hour taking the time to make a template for a future post and delete stuff to serve my purposes than have to do it all from scratch every time.
What so you think Steemit...are these reasonable requests?
Do you have any that are better? Let me know your thoughts below!
