Messaging around Building Apps on Blockstack

[pstan26]

Starting a thread here for the specific purpose of messaging around our core interaction (building decentralized apps and using decentralized apps).

We are also having a meeting next Wednesday 3/15 at 11:45 am (cal invite here) We welcome interested and thoughtful members of our community to join as we work on crafting our messaging around app building and using that will be used to attract new developers to build on blockstack.

If you are planning on attending, please submit comments below with ideas for messaging around the use of apps ahead of time. That being said, no ideas are bad ideas -- this is an actual safe place for any ideas you could envision inspiring our target demographic.

Let's use the comments below as a scratchpad/submission board ahead of the meeting.

[pstan26]

Dev-targeted: "Build the internet for you" "Freedom on the Internet" "Build on a decentralized Internet" "Unlock the true potential of the Internet" "Unlock the true potential of the Decentralized Internet" "Build on the internet as it was intended to be" "Be the first to build on a truly decentralized internet"

User-targeted: "Use an internet built for you" "Enter an internet that allows for freedom" "Escape from the centralized internet" "Exist on a truly free Internet" "Get to know the internet as it was intended to be" "Be a part of the next Internet" "Become a pioneer of the first truly decentralized internet"

[cryptocracy]

Dev-targeted: 1) "Build the change you wish to see" 2) "Functionality > Force" 3) "Sovereignty First" (a play onto the "Mobile First" or "API First" design philosophy)

User-targeted 1) "Be the change you wish to see" 2) "Cooperation & Coordination > Collusion & Corruption" 3) "Identity Independence"

[guylepage3]

Dev-targeted: "Build the internet around you"

User-targeted: "Use an internet built around you"

I feel before we establish this we should establish if we are serious about targeting two segments. I am starting to feel that we definitely should have two camps.

1. Developers who want to use our product
2. Developers who are enthusiasts who want dev tools to build apps.

There should be a developer facing site that is easily accessible from blockstack.org. something like.. https://developer.apple.com/ where developers feel empowered and special. A place where developers build the skills needed to create apps on Blockstack.

This would give us a market advantage over other platforms in this space. We don't have many other blatantly obvious competitive advantages. This would be a win of the community.

I feel that is much more needed at this point. Thoughts?

[pstan26]

@guylepage3 The target of our messaging is a great conversation to have in this thread. I do believe we should be serious about targeting two segments but be aware of timing and subsegment so we stick with a potent message that doesn't change. As far as users go, there would naturally be a "general population user" that should be targeted months from now, and also a "developer-user" who may-not-build-but-will-use-apps that can be targeted very soon. So I think I agree with you there.

I'm not going to talk about a developer-facing site outside of .org/tutorials, .org/docs, and future developer programs here so we can keep the focus on messaging. Happy to engage in that conversation in a different GH issue. update: I added this: https://github.com/blockstack/blockstack/issues/233

[larrysalibra]

It's important to think about the general segment user soon rather than later. I as a developer/businessman don't want to build an app on a platform that confuses users that have no idea developer platforms are.

It's also important to decide what the idea of "Blockstack App" is supposed to convey to users. What characteristics do a Blockstack App have that a "regular" app don't have? What guarantees do they give users? If I use a Blockstack App, can I be guaranteed that the app will only talk to my Blockstack Core node and not send data or make requests to random 3rd party domains?

[pstan26]

@notes:

Ryan - Consumer is more safe. Freedom. Freedom and Security/Safety on the Internet

1st order: Don't get screwed by a hack "Write this app and throw it out there" java: "write once run everywhere" speed and permanence no need to maintain infrastructure

"Declare your independence" was a resounding winner

2nd order: Don't tie yourself to a platform -- why would you ever rely on a startup. You all the sudden have end-to-end crypto -- you don't have to worry about managing customers data

[guylepage3]

We also determined that the target is solely developers at this exact moment in time. to be revisited in the next quarterly messaging review.

[shea256]

Someone I just spoke to mentioned:

"Zero knowledge applications"

I also thought of:

"Edge applications"

[pstan26]

I like "Edge Applications" as it is simpler than Zero Knowledge Applications, however I do think of edge-case as in "you may not need this". Do you think Zero Knowledge (as in cryptographic proofs) may be too inside-baseball for many front end devs?

[vsund]

I already posted this in Slack (because I thought it's not important enough to be in this conversion, but now the conversion got in this direction): SpiderOak dropped "Zero Knowledge" in favour of "No Knowledge" to avoiding to be confused with cryptographic terms

[shea256]

@pstan26 Yeah I think it's very inside baseball. And @vsund brings up a great point. Maybe best to avoid.

[shea256]

If we coin and own the term "edge applications" it could be powerful.

Power, data, control, apps all live on the edges of the network.

[guylepage3]

"Decentralized applications" is already taking off though. Why are we trying to go against the grain with this term?

[guylepage3]

pinning.. #93: Blockstack Messaging

[jackzampolin]

Closing as stale, this discussion can be moved to #253