Creating an account and the steep learning curve have always been the main barriers to entry for new Hive users. But, although in a certain way it touches on it, it is not what I am going to be talking about today.
There's one thing I've always noticed about Hive, and in my opinion, it's the most influential factor in retaining users: the lack of mobile apps. At least of the major dApps, only two have apps:
- Ecency: which I use mostly for notifications, responding to comments, and managing some of my account's finances (suggestion for @ecency, they should release an app just for the wallet).
- 3Speak: where I usually upload the videos I make.
These two, despite having some bugs, offer enormous versatility and advantages compared to having to use a mobile web browser. However, the two dApps that would bring the most traction to Hive and have the most influence on Hive retention if they had a mobile app are @liketu and INLEO (@leofinance). I say this because of the concepts these platforms use, which inherently encourage user interaction and their ease of use.
Liketu, which focuses on the visual aspect and presents itself as an alternative to Instagram. And Inleo, which redesigned itself and pioneered the short-form content niche, offering an alternative to Twitter (yes, I'll keep calling it that for now). These are two sectors that encompass a large portion of users, which Hive somewhat neglects by prioritizing long-form blog-type content in its curation. If we analyze the behavior of the main social networks, we will see that the greatest content consumption and interaction occurs in short posts or those with more photos than text. That's why these two platforms can become Hive's pillars if they develop a mobile app. Because, analyzing the same behavior of social networks, most users access them from the app installed on their phone and not from a browser.
Yes, both offer the ability to install web apps, but this is not enough. The optimization and design that can be achieved with a native app is unparalleled. I don't know how many users stop posting on Hive because the process isn't as simple as uploading a story to WhatsApp* or Instagram, or because they forget because they don't have an app.
*This is for another post, but a messaging app that requires authentication through the Hive account would be a killer. I know there are chats already, but again, on the web.
Sorry for the purists, but you can't demand that Hive become massive or popular and then ask users to adapt. It's the dApps that should make things easier for users, especially when they're already accustomed to the ease of using web2 applications. It's not a bad idea to take inspiration from the designs of Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn when designing interfaces and placing options in the most common and intuitive areas.
The truth is that you can spend all you want on advertising to promote Hive or attract new users, but as long as they don't have apps, the ROI will be very low.
Can you imagine TikTok being a website instead of an app? I assure you, it would never have exploded like it did.
Let's look at some data to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
Platform Breakdown
| Social Network | Mobile App Traffic | Web Traffic | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~90-95% | ~5-10% | 100% mobile at its inception. | |
| TikTok | ~95%+ | ~5% | |
| ~60-70% | ~30-40% | The website is primarily used to manage pages and groups. | |
| Twitter (X) | ~65-75% | ~25-35% | The website is popular for long threads. |
| ~50-60% | ~40-50% | Primary web use during work hours from work computers | |
| Snapchat | ~95%+ | ~5% | |
| ~70-80% | ~20-30% |
As you can see, mobile apps dominate social media, so you can see the problem with not having dedicated mobile apps on Hive.
Now, I understand that developing a mobile app might require more work and money than a website, but I think it would be something the entire community (i.e., DHF) would support. Plus, it would be the perfect time for projects to become self-sustaining.
Crazy ideas for this:
- Mandatory post beneficiaries.
- Premium subscriptions with perks like removing mandatory beneficiaries, earning from subscriptions, earning from ads, permanently deleting images uploaded to the gallery, etc.
- Ads (an app attracts more users, more users attract more advertisers).
If the need and advantages of dApps starting to focus on mobile applications are still unclear, let me summarize a bit.
Advantages of Mobile Apps for Hive dApps
- Optimized experience: Takes full advantage of the hardware (camera, microphone, geolocation) and the operating system.
- Greater engagement: Push notifications, access from the home screen, and longer usage time.
- Direct monetization: Facilitates in-app purchases or subscriptions.
- Customization: Better adaptation for an intuitive design, inclusion of private chats, and a better user experience.
- Greater reach: There are more smartphone users than desktop PC users, and these users are more accustomed to the ease of use of applications than to using a browser, which they ultimately see as a necessary evil. Therefore, a mobile app would generate high retention and engagement.
Conclusion
The main Hive dApps already have a validated idea, have been around for two years or more, and also have a loyal user base. Developing a mobile app would not only increase the satisfaction of those users, but would also attract and retain new users in a much larger number than the current one. This would allow them to explore other areas of monetization and/or funding.
So, this post is an invitation to all developers and projects out there to start taking that step toward mobile apps and/or let me know your views in the comments.
Image generated by me with Janus-Pro-7B
Reference sources: Reports from Statista and public data from companies such as Meta and LinkedIn.