I have always been a big fan of Brave since the first time I heard about it. What's there not to like- it makes our browsing experience faster, blocks out all adware and malware lurking behind the sites we visit and on top of that providing incentives like creator rewards and ad rewards.
I was so convinced with Brave that after BTC and ETH, it is BAT that holds the biggest part of my crypto portfolio. The reason for my conviction in their long term potential is that they have the scope to reach and connect with each and every internet user in the world which will make it reach a global user base that even BTC and ETH can't dream about.
However just having a great plan and mission will not suffice, they need to ensure their implementation is as good as the plan. I want to share some aspects which I strongly believe Brave needs to address in the near future if it wants to replace Chrome as the de-facto browser and establish it's token BAT as one the most popular cryptocurrency.
1. Ad Rewards Model: First of all this was a tricky area for them since the beginning. If they wanted to place themselves as a browser that is focused on user convenience by removing all ads then why did they retain they put the Ad Rewards program. The answer is simple if there are 0 ads there are 0 revenues and the project can't sustain itself. So they put in place a model where users get a big part of the ad revenues for watching the ads. However they could have been implemented it in a more structured way and by making their plans transparent to all the users from the beginning. They received a lot of flak for the way some countries were included some were not. Some had higher pay out rates and some low. Most of the users faced some glitches while using the ads, many were not clear how to access the BAT they earn. In fact initially people could not take out the BAT at all, and later Brave added the option to cash out BAT
2. Marketing and Awareness: Brave has been around for more than 4 years still it does not have a user base that can come anywhere close to Chrome. And people generally switch browsers very fast if they are convinced about it's benefits. Do you remember how fast Mozilla replaced Internet Explorer and then how fast Chrome replaced Mozilla. Brave is currently focused only on the crypto community which forms a very small part of the population. To ensure global adoption they need to use broader marketing channels like publicizing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. Currently the main attraction for users is free BAT which is still not a stable and universal model. They need to publicize more about other benefits like faster browsing and malware/spyware blocking.
3. Operational Glitches: With more than 4 years since launch you can not call yourself a Beta. If you go to any forum like reddit or steemit it is filled with user complaints about disappearing BATs, creator rewards lost in transaction, extensive KYC requirement for Uphold account, users are not give private keys.
I hope Brave puts in place a clear strategy to resolve all on-going challenges so it can claim the most popular Browser position in 2020.
I originally posted this on Publish0x at - https://www.publish0x.com/crypto-projects-sams-reviews/what-bothers-me-about-brave-xjydvg