So for the past week or so I've really been trying to make a go of using eSteem. The reason for this is simply because it has an app for all the platforms that I use, namely macOS and iOS.
I prefer to use apps over web pages because if the internet goes down then I've got nothing I can do but with an app it should be able to at least write offline and publish later on. This is quite advantageous if a little unnecessary given that our internet is generally quite stable.
I just love the idea of picking up my phone or sitting at my computer or sitting on my couch with my iPad and just typing or reading through the one app.
I've tried other apps as well. Partiko for one is a nice app however it has one serious problem in my mind. It has no iPad app. When using it on the iPad I get an upscaled iPhone app and that is useless to me. There's no hint that an iPad app is on its way anytime soon which is a shame. And I'm picking we can forget about a macOS app. Appics is looking interesting but it doesn't seem to get me as much visibility for some reason. It's also an upscaled iPhone app on the iPad which is a pain but I do wish this one well because an alternative to the Facebook/Instagram behemoth is needed.
But I get all three of these with eSteem which makes me feel like this is a more professional outfit and one I'm keen to support.
The apps are all well laid out and simple to get your head around. I'm a firm believer in the 1/2hr to 1hr rule. If I can't work out how to use an app within half an hour or one hour for more complex apps then the application is worthless to me. For this reason eSteem works very well. Sure there were some things that threw me a little, namely where was access to my blog posts and my wallet but these were found quickly.
I like how on the desktop I have the editing and preview side by side making it so much easier to see if I've got things right before posting. I like how on the iPad I have a fullscreen app that has a layout that works for the iPad. I like how I can just pick up my iPhone and just start posting.
When it comes to posting though it would be nice if I could work between platforms. It would be nice to start writing a post when I'm out and about on my iPhone but carry it on on either my iPad or MacBook. This might be a limitation of how the Steem platform works or maybe it's a work in progress for eSteem but I hope it comes if not soon.
All in all everyone is going to find their preferred way of accessing the Steem platform. From what I'm reading people are unhappy about SteemIt although I'm a little confused as to what's actually going on there. eSteem seems popular and it's proving rather effective for me and so it's going to be the only way I interact with Steem now.
Thanks for the hardwork and platform development that you guys have been doing @esteemapp. It's really appreciated.