A little over a month ago, I wrote about the @wherein project that was being developed on the Steem blockchain. This one really excited me because it was a Chinese application which would allow Steem to enter the largest market in the world. We are aware that China has a large portion of its population that is technically advanced with social media being huge. It is also an enormous mobile market with a large percentage of Internet access being done via mobile devices.
Here is the post from a month ago.
@taskmaster4450/steem-the-chinese-are-coming
A few people are starting to catch on as the announcements come from the Wherein team. Earlier, they put up a post that explained where they are headed. This is really exciting stuff to read especially for those of us outside China.
I am uplifted to see this project team to take the sign up process head on. This is something that was a problem for Steem and relying on Steemit Inc to do the bulk of the sign ups is going to stunt the growth. Wherein is taking matters into their own hands and doing things a bit differently.
One of the things is they are catering to the Chinese market. This is a mobile market. The users in that country are accustomed to signing up using their mobile number as opposed to an email address This is a nuance that is being helped along by the development of the Wherein application.
Their goal is to add a large number of users The world of blockchain is still new and providing people access is the first step.
To achieve this goal, we have developed a new function for sign-up and sign-in. Users in China can sign up via their mobile phone number, verification code and Wechat Pay. They can log into Steem blockchain via phone number and verification code or phone number and password. We’ve been working on constantly improving users’ experience. Our next step is to develop a hosting system through which users can retrieve their password, cancel their login with phone number and verification code/password. By doing this, users can take a complete control of their accounts and data.
Taking from the idea already on Steem, they developed Whereinconnect which is going to facilitate the sign ups.
They go on to say:
We are trying to build a channel for the public to access Steem blockchain with less time and hassle. We believe that Steem will only enjoy a constant and steady growth when the great majority’s quick and easy access is insured.
@wherein/wherein-new-function-launch-quick-and-easy-sign-up-and-sign-in
This is what we are looking for. A great deal of Steem's problems stem from the fact that sign up process is still slow. By streamlining it in a country that is accustomed to using social media, we could see a rapid increase in the activity on here. The fact this is taking place within China by people who are knowledgeable about the landscape there helps a great deal.
I delegated 500 SP to them a month ago and, today, I added another 1,000 SP. I did this because I believe this application will really help the Steem blockchain. Also, they are offering tokens for those who delegate SP to them while they are getting things set up.
One of the potential game changers is the concept of geo-tagging. This could be a means to blend the online and offline communities. By tagging different images along with locations, "communities" start to form around those images and events. People start to get closer even while separated geographically. This also begins the process of merging the physical and digital worlds of search.
Overall, this is an exciting project to see updated. My instincts tell me this could really be enormous. With the expected shift from West to East, China is expected to be the global leader at some point in the next decade. Blockchain is something that makes sense in that country (as it does everywhere else) so getting in now is only to Steem's benefit.
I hope everyone takes a look at what this group is doing. If you are so inclined, it might be of benefit to delegate some SP to become part of that cooperative.
Fun times are a coming....
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Image from article linked.