I love Actifit but...

It's another Sunday and time for a Creative Sunday post.

What am I busy doing today? Still working on getting a dApp running. It is a huge pain though, mostly because I'm not a coder and I'm relying on AI to get it working. On the one side it allows me to get a lot of code written in no time. Then I spend another hour hunting down bugs. I've been told that's what true programmers do, but still, its annoying.

Last week I worked on getting a Dragon created and its genome moved from my PC to HIVE. This week I'm taking that genome and allowing it to get stronger over time based on a fixed pool of upgrade gems. Pretty dry stuff, but this is what my screen looks like so I can watch progression as the days roll by.

But what does this have to do with Actifit?

For those of you who don't use Actifit by @mcfarhat it looks like a fairly simple app. Download the app, walk 5000 steps daily, post about your path to fitness and how you got your steps. Throw in a few images and get AFIT and HIVE tokens. It's my personal favorite app to show newbies to HIVE because its on their phone, its low barrier to entry and they are guaranteed a reward.

Now I will say that as I learn more about programming I give my respect to the programmer. With all the buttons, all the integration, all the options.... I shudder to think about all the coding that went into it. The app may look simple but the more I learn the more difficult it looks to code.

Unfortunately that complexity bleeds over to anyone who wants to use the app. You need to get a HIVE account to use it. You have to import your posting key in order to post your daily activity. You need another Actifit account to move your AFIT tokens. Plus there is so much information sitting in the app hidden in different screens and menu's that it is mind boggling.

My favorite feature on Actifit

The real thing that sticks out to me about the Actifit app? Is that it has Admob advertising on it. No, Seriously I mean it. I will admit that watching the ad's gives so little value that it is not really worth doing as I get 1 AFIT token from watching an AD and I get 50 AFIT tokens minimum from making a post. I get about 900 AFIT tokens from grinding the app and buying power ups.

The fact remains that I love the advertising feature. I love the fact that once you finally get it set up its easy to use. I love the fact that it is a low effort way to encourage people to be active and interact with Hive.

What does that have to do with making MY dApp?

Of course what does my app and Actifit have in common? Well, I'm hoping to leverage the Actifit model but make it more user friendly to the vast majority of people who use Web2 and are unfamiliar with Web3.

Unfortunately in doing so I may break a number of unwritten Hive rules so I'm giving my thoughts here and hoping to get a few ideas on how to implement what I'm doing without stepping on any toes. Here's lookin at you @dlmmqb for a comment or two ;)

How I would (and hope to) change the gateway to Actifit

Actifit requires you to have a Hive account.

Obviously as a dApp you need a Hive account. That's also the biggest pain point. However what if you didn't need to? What if the initial user app just took your daily step count and sent it to a server. Then that server aggregates the information and sends that to the Actifit feed instead? Have a single Hive account watching over a bunch of newbies?

Give the app users the ability to see other peoples posts. Have them able to see their daily updates on Ecency, PeakD or the like.

It allows new users an easy way to dabble their feet into Web3 while still using Web2. My server has the posting keys and makes the post. The new user isn't on Hive.....yet.....not directly at least. However, they are becoming Hive acquainted and Actifit gets a whole new batch of potential users without wasting their AFIT and votes on the ones who drop out.

Actifit has an optional ad.

If you ask me watching an ad shouldn't be optional, it should be mandatory. Hive doesn't survive if money doesn't go into it. You can't have a crypto that always bleeds cash, it need money coming in as well. Why not through advertising? My thought? One post, one ad. Simple.

Of course, people hate watching ads. But what if they didn't? Right now Actifit gives you a tiny little sliver of AFIT if you watch an ad. Not very interesting. But what if the advertisement did more? What if you gamed it? I'm not watching an ad for $0.0005 cents. I would watch an ad if it gave me bragging rights or helped me win something. Or if it helped my team win something.

My thought: Have 10 bots watching over all the newcomers on a dApp. Your bot (ahem..Dragon) fighting the other bots. Every step you take and every ad you watch powers up YOUR team and your dragon. Sure watching an ad sucks...but if it helps you beat the enemy and helps your team win...then it gets a lot more interesting.

Actifit has buddies and a leaderboard

But the leaderboard is hard to access and there are a LOT of people on it. It is hard to make it feel personal. But if you have a smaller team all pulling for one Bot/Dragon then that list gets smaller and the interactions can get more personal. Suddenly its not my name along with 10,000 others on a leaderboard. It is my name along with my 20-50 team mates all pulling for 1 of 10 Dragons to help them win on the leaderboard then I'll learn my team mates fairly quickly.

Still just a dream

At the moment things are still just more idea than code.

The first ten dragons

I have made my first ten gladiator dragons complete with genome so I know how they start and how they develop. I also know that some are stronger than others but depending on where they fight and how they are trained none of them are losers.

The training sequence

This week I made a pathway to upgrades that takes into account user activity and different choices they make to help their dragon. Different choices, different upgrades, and different strengths in combat. Every choice, every step, and every members activity determines the outcomes of battles.

But I have a lot of steps left to go. If you are curious this is my current vision which I'll hopefully chip away at (if the AI coding is up to it).

Make an app so that people can walk, make choices, and support their dragon.
Send the daily information to a server which will keep track of their data and add it to the dragon they are supporting.
Each dragon will have a HIVE account. The server will send all the data from every individual supporter to that account. In that way every app user will have their contribution locked in and visible. The true power of the blockchain.
Have 5 different battles between the ten dragons and post each one daily on Hive. With each battle getting curated by each of the other 10 accounts*
Make a website to highlight weekly, monthly, and season results.

Which of course means I have to: Make an app, Make a server, Make a website, Make posts, and have everything linked on Hive. Hahahaha.... I'd better automate or I'll never have a life.

Where does the money go? Who benefits?

When it comes to Hive, money matters.

Why would Actifit want me posting there?

Answer: They may not. If they don't I'll make my own tribe and figure it out from there.

But. If the app works you get people walking, posting, and hitting the ad button. If people stick with it and become invested they will see Actifit and hopefully join up. Think of it as an introduction and weeding out service. Those who aren't interested drop out before ever getting a wasted upvote from the Actifit curator. Those who are dedicated stay and make a stronger Actifit community.

How does it benefit Hive?

Answer: I full intend to put every advertising dollar into HIVE. In addition any money spent on the app would also be put into Hive. The idea of having a steady stream of income coming in can't be a bad thing, can it?

How does it benefit the app user?

Well, they get a dragon to cheer for and a reason to get those steps in every day. However, as they go along their daily dragon journey I'll add little steps into Hive. Show them how they can make their own account to start their own baby dragon. Or perhaps show them how to open a wallet so they can get a portion of their favorite dragons earnings. Baby steps into the idea of Web3 so that they don't have to take the plunge all at once and be overwhelmed.

How does it benefit me?

Well, all the HP that I buy with ad money goes into my Dragon's account (well, all 10 of them). All the curation rewards from Hive will go to buy the GLD token (my altcoin) and the amount of GLD will directly reflect the players investment in the dragon. The more long term players a dragon has the more GLD the dragon has and the stronger it will be. However, long term players will get the ability to get their own Hive account and if they decide to leave? They get their GLD contribution back to them.

So...

Hive gets an income source

Actifit gets more and hopefully better users

I get a bigger investment in Hive

and players get a game to play and if they follow the path end up with a HIVE account and a way to earn some money for their effort.

Of I find that it is overwhelming

Honestly it is a big task and I make no guarantees that I'll be able to pull it off. It sounds good in theory but maybe no-one will be interested. Maybe it goes horribly wrong and turns into a giant mess. Or maybe it becomes a fun way for people to get in their daily steps and without knowing it get inducted into the Hive community.

Whatever happens...

I spent my day trying to make one more piece of the puzzle. A dragon upgrade engine. Now when I get back home I'll try to figure out how to make an app.

hahahaha.... an easy thing to do on a casual creative-sunday, right Hive Learners?

Final notes:

To @mcfarhat first I love Actifit and thank you for it. Second if you want Actifit left out of this say one word and I'll find other alternatives. If you are curious, well, I'll keep you posted every step along the way.

To @dlmmqb I know that having 10 dragons vote for the other 10 dragons posts is very much a closed loop system which is heavily frowned upon by the hive watchers. However since each post is actually an amalgamation of a number of app users effort it is like each dragon is voting on the communities work as a whole. So if you have any ideas, let me know.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Dreaming of making a dApp that straddles both Web2 and Web3? Crazy or Ambitions...hmmm