It is amazing how synchronicity works.
I was scanning through the State of the DApps site when I notice an application that I was not familiar with.
I took a look at it and it was written in an Asian language. Since I was in a browser that didn't readily translate, I just clicked off it. Then, I hit up the trending page to see what was being promoted and I came across a post by the @wherein account.
Weird huh?
Let me tell you, the universe, along with the @wherein team, blew me away with this one. I am telling you, these people have their act together.
Wherein is a social media platform built on the Steem blockchain. It is available in both Android and IOS. It is crucial to remember that mobile is the primary way to access the internet in China.
There approach is four-pronged:
- Light Blogging
This is a term I had not heard of. It essentially means sharing one's thoughts or feelings. Instagram, Twitter, and other applications fall under this category. In China, the largest app is WeChat. According to the post, light blogging is 100 times more popular on WeChat than regular blogging.
- Check-In DApp
The idea is to combine the online and offline worlds. One of the big ways to do this is geographically. Geo-tags are what brings things to life. Search right now omits this feature. By tying user experiences to their geographic areas, all posts are suddenly searchable by area.
According to the figures they provided, 35%-40% of all Instagram posts have geographical data tied to them. This is important since 92% of all data is offline.
- Community Tokenization Tool
This is also bringing the online and offline communities together. By having a "community economy, they feel that offline businesses can benefit for the users on the application. Also, the possibility for businesses to create their own token could further this connection.
- Ease Of Use
I will let them explain:
Blockchain is like a whirlwind sweeping the globe, but after the vents have passed, there is not much left. We have seriously reflected on this and found that the blockchain is still popular among a small group of people, just like a technical geek is playing his toys. The many characteristics of the blockchain and the regulatory layers of local governments have increased the threshold for users to enter the blockchain sector, especially Steem and EOS. It is noteworthy that regulators have put in measures to avoid spam attacks, by increasing the cost of creating accounts.
We are looking forward to support the purchase invitation code to have a Steem account, which users can use to pay for their regular WeChat payment, Alipay or PayPal. These will be integrated into the software of WhereIn. In the follow-up, we will promote merchants in some parts of China to support Steem. Users can complete the entire purchase process by simply scanning the QR code of the merchant. Our goal is to make it easier for users to come in, leave Steem to use, and even pay Steem in their daily lives. This can make the community become more harmonious and integration becomes closer. (Bold mine)
Wow. In the application will be the integration to pay for accounts using WeChat, AliPay, and PayPal. I am going to go out on a limb and say those are probably the three largest online pay services in China.
Also, the idea of having STEEM easily used with merchants is really exciting. They truly are using the development of a community as the main value building tool as to why merchants should accept it. If this application enables users to earn STEEM while tying it to their geographic locations, then local merchants will be more open to receiving it. It becomes a nicely contained ecosystem.
I suggest everyone give the original article a read. It also had a roadmap the development team is following.
https://busy.org/@wherein/wherein-a-steem-based-lifestyle-social-media-platform
The development team consists of 8 developers at the moment. They have big plans in reading through the layout for 2019. This is another project that will have a SMT associated with it (their expectation is to have it in Q3). They are also going to focus upon the integration with the offline community the last quarter of 2019 and throughout 2020.
We will see how this progresses. China is an enormous market with a substantial part of the population technically advanced. It is a proud culture that has a market that is difficult for outsiders to penetrate. This is an application put together by a community within China who is operating on the Steem blockchain. In reading how they approach social media, this could be a tremendous winner in the next couple of years.
They are seeking delegation to help them grow. They provide links in the original post for anyone interested in helping out.
This is one I am going to keep my eye on. It could have incredible potential.
The @wherein website is http://www.wherein.io/.
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