We are still in the first couple weeks and LeoThreads is starting to gain a bit of traction. There is a core group who are showing up each day to engage. It is exciting to see.
Of course, we know there are issues with it. That is why it was released in beta. One thing we know is the development team is rolling out updates. We are getting both more features along with performance enhancements. Over the next couple months I expect we will see a full rollout of a feature-set that will make LeoThreads very appealing.
Life Of An Early Adopter
Welcome to life as an early adopter. It is not easy to deal with the mishaps and issues that are going to arise. We know there are going to be a lot of challenges, especially the first month. Since there are obvious performance issues, a lot of the updates could address that.
This adds another element of uncertainty as they are rolling out since they will invariably break things. It simply is how things go with development.
Nevertheless, we are able to request what we would like to see with the platform. My guess is the next update will have a great deal more features added, some basics that are truly required for microblogging.
In the meantime, we can keep pushing things forward by getting creative, as a community. Since there is limited functionality at this moment, we have to get innovative and develop some workarounds. This can help down the road as often those can be integrated into the platform.
So it is worthwhile to be involved.
For example, some of you know the mentioning of #threadcasts. This is an idea to use #threads as a real time engagement mechanism. To do it, we simply put up a #thread and respond back and forth during an event. The first run was during a New York Mets baseball game with @jimmy.adames and myself.
This concept could apply to anything. There could be a #thread for the weekly Leofinance AMA. It could apply to sports, television shows, or any livecast. It does create real time engagement.
Taking this one step further, when talking to Khal on CryptoManiacs last week, I suggested setting up a feature where #threadcasts could be scheduled. Thus, one would be able to look at what was taking place and join in. At the same time, the one who set it up could schedule the #thread, having it go live at the particular time.
This is one idea to make LeoThreads more innovative.
Anyone can offer up ideas and suggestions.
My Prediction
I am going to state that, in two months, we will see a platform that will rival anything in microblogging. Let us say by the middle to end of October.
Why do I make this claim?
To be honest, it stems from the fact that microblogging isn't all that deep. While we will not see all the functionality of Twitter, the reality is the basic necessities are rather limited. Sure, Twitter has spaces and stuff like that which I do not expect. However, we will see better filtering, having our followers, and a lot of the Twitter experience.
The one difference is that it will not be a standalone application by that time. We still will be using either desktop or the Leo mobile app. From that perspective, we are a bit limited but we can't have everything in an instant.
We were promised an update each week. Keeping in mind that some will be performance only, that should provide enough time to get the basics. We have roughly 9 upgrades by the middle of October. If have of them contain a slew of new features, then we will see a viable platform for microblogging.
At the moment, while there are limitations in features, I think the performance if the most crucial. As stated, microblogging is rather basic. Thus, if the speed is there, I think users will be drawn to it.
Another Idea
While everyone focuses upon Twitter, there is another application that could be targeted. I see a number of people posting pictures on #threads. This is another fantastic use case.
Hence, we ultimately could be looking at something similar to an Instagram. Perhaps we ought to think of non-monetary "rewards" that can be added to make the interaction and user experience more enjoyable.
After all, it does seem like the Internet world likes things that are a bit goofy.
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