What is Bitshares really doing marketing wise?

[mindphlux]

I would love for someone with greater knowledge than I to Skype with me so I can fill in my knowledge gaps.

I suggest you hit the telegram bitshares group, there are alot of helpful people there, including myself to help you out at any time.

https://bitsharestalk.org/index.php/topic,18642.0.html

[lovejoy]

I've been a marketeer in the UK since 2005. I've started 4 of my own marketing companies in that time and now consult, manage and execute marketing systems for 3 specific clients.

I am studying BitShares because it matches my personal values of securing life, liberty and property for all. For me it's not about the money. That's why they call me The Marketing Monk, I spend more time meditating than I do eating.

Marketing may seem a strange occupation for someone with a spiritual inclination but it's not when you consider how I see marketing. Marketing creates awareness, and with enough awareness a person can solve all their problems.

So marketing is something we do 'for' people. It's not something we do 'to' them.

There's nothing more valuable to a person than a marketing message which makes them aware of something that can greatly benefit them that they were not previously aware existed.

That's why I only engage in what I term 'conscious marketing' i.e. the marketing of products, services and businesses that existing to push humanity forward towards greater balance, harmony and prosperity.

My personal mission statement is "Leading People to Freedom". You can read my personal philosophy in more detail at http://www.chrisconey.com.

I'm at the point in my BitShares learning journey where I'm now beginning to create marketing ideas for it. The biggest barrier to that creative process is that I still have a lot of gaps in my own knowledge about BitShares.

In the context of making a business case for myself, I need to understand how the referral rewards system works so I can make my marketing efforts sustainable and scalable.

I'm only interested in profiting from the rewards program to the degree to which it enables me to sustain my marketing efforts. The longer I can sustain my marketing efforts and the more I can scale up, the more chance BitShares has in becoming the dominant platform.

Here's the truth about marketing BitShares...
"If everyone else knew what we knew about it, they'd jump right in."

Hence, to my mind, marketing and education go hand in hand.

The benefits on offer with BitShares means that it doesn't need to be promoted using the hard sell. Once people are educated and have the full awareness and understanding, I believe they'll naturally and automatically make the choice to get involved.

Thus my marketing challenge is to firstly understand BitShares myself at such a deep level that I personally could answer any question on it (barring the detailed coding questions) and then turning my understanding into an educational marketing funnel that would start with someone who is totally green and end with them buying some BTS and joining our new economy.

So far my study has been limited to YouTube videos, the BitShares website and this forum.

I would love for someone with greater knowledge than I to Skype with me so I can fill in my knowledge gaps.

Greetings MarketingMonk!

You have impeccable timing.

There's a whole crew of talented folks with both BitShares and marketing acumen just waiting in the wings around here who can offer all manner of different vantage points on the referral marketing platform. 

I'm happy to give you my take on the situation, and I'd encourage you to speak with other members of the community here to get their take on it as well.

Start here if you haven't, and feel free to get in touch.

https://bitshares.org/referral-program/
https://bitshares.org/technology/referral-rewards-program/

skype: nimitta1776

[MarketingMonk]

I've been a marketeer in the UK since 2005. I've started 4 of my own marketing companies in that time and now consult, manage and execute marketing systems for 3 specific clients.

I am studying BitShares because it matches my personal values of securing life, liberty and property for all. For me it's not about the money. That's why they call me The Marketing Monk, I spend more time meditating than I do eating.

Marketing may seem a strange occupation for someone with a spiritual inclination but it's not when you consider how I see marketing. Marketing creates awareness, and with enough awareness a person can solve all their problems.

So marketing is something we do 'for' people. It's not something we do 'to' them.

There's nothing more valuable to a person than a marketing message which makes them aware of something that can greatly benefit them that they were not previously aware existed.

That's why I only engage in what I term 'conscious marketing' i.e. the marketing of products, services and businesses that existing to push humanity forward towards greater balance, harmony and prosperity.

My personal mission statement is "Leading People to Freedom". You can read my personal philosophy in more detail at http://www.chrisconey.com.

I'm at the point in my BitShares learning journey where I'm now beginning to create marketing ideas for it. The biggest barrier to that creative process is that I still have a lot of gaps in my own knowledge about BitShares.

In the context of making a business case for myself, I need to understand how the referral rewards system works so I can make my marketing efforts sustainable and scalable.

I'm only interested in profiting from the rewards program to the degree to which it enables me to sustain my marketing efforts. The longer I can sustain my marketing efforts and the more I can scale up, the more chance BitShares has in becoming the dominant platform.

Here's the truth about marketing BitShares...
"If everyone else knew what we knew about it, they'd jump right in."

Hence, to my mind, marketing and education go hand in hand.

The benefits on offer with BitShares means that it doesn't need to be promoted using the hard sell. Once people are educated and have the full awareness and understanding, I believe they'll naturally and automatically make the choice to get involved.

Thus my marketing challenge is to firstly understand BitShares myself at such a deep level that I personally could answer any question on it (barring the detailed coding questions) and then turning my understanding into an educational marketing funnel that would start with someone who is totally green and end with them buying some BTS and joining our new economy.

So far my study has been limited to YouTube videos, the BitShares website and this forum.

I would love for someone with greater knowledge than I to Skype with me so I can fill in my knowledge gaps.

[BunkerChainLabs-DataSecurityNode]

Why do we need an Internet Marketing Specialist, because they're responsible for:

SUMMARY
Responsible for developing rich, quality content for online sites.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop easy-to-use, clear, concise, comprehensible content.
Research web copy.
Create sites that are optimized for search engines.
Develop relationships with websites to obtain quality links.
Improve search-engine rankings.
Develop and maintain social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Send out quality messages on these channels.
Drive traffic to websites using a variety of methods.
Ensure content appears high on search rankings.
Develop density of desired keyword on page
Research popularity of sites linking to page.
Develop pay-per-click advertising campaigns.
Create Internet ads.
Establish an effective presence on social media sites.
Monitor a company's online reputation.
Approve or delete comments on blogs or articles.
Highlight and encourage positive comments.
Strengthen relationships with power brokers.
Manage and deliver email lists.
Design and deliver emails.
Craft email campaigns.
Integrate other online presences including social media outlets with email campaigns.
Follow up on responses.
Solicit customer feedback and optimize campaigns accordingly.

Why do we need an Interactive Marketing Specialist, because they're responsible for:

SUMMARY
Responsible for integrating promotional elements into marketing and maximizing communications channels to ensure the proper message is delivered to customers.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop and execute marketing programs to promote the company's brand.
Perform lead generation.
Attend trade shows.
Create advertisements, webcasts, websites, and direct mail.
Identify media outlets for press releases and promotions.
Enforce brand marketing guidelines in trademarks, logos, and publications.
Develop and track budgets.
Measure success of various marketing campaigns.
Drive profitable sales, brand growth and loyalty for a number of business areas.
Analyze and support both category and cluster marketing plans to align with brand strategy and achieve annual operating plan goals.
Develop accountability structure for stakeholders.
Develop and execute brand management plans.
Create and enhance agency and partner relationships.
Leverage customer insight data to refine brand management.
Identify brand-building areas.
Ensure brand communication for areas of responsibility are consistent with the company and brand positioning.
Develop and implement media planning, buying, and innovation strategies.
Provide design and direction for collateral, web, product packaging, and other visual communications media for the company.
Help promote uniformity and consistency of brand.

When 2.0 is launched if people still have a stomach for YAIM (yet another internet marketer) with a worker proposal they/we are willing to pay for.. then that can happen.

However, that said.. I think the focus here is dated.. this is where the focus was last year. With 2.0 release.. Bitshares is taking a backseat to the rest of the world using its platform and by extension doing the marketing through utility.

Perhaps you missed one of the summer announcements also where we have one network coming onboard in 2.0 that is bringing with it several thousand affiliates who are reving their engines to start promoting 2.0 and getting a piece of the Bitshares refer action. (https://bitsharestalk.org/index.php/topic,17340.msg220745.html#msg220745) The marketing and sales funnels they create will in the end produce results through whom ever is the best performer.

It's going to be by doing that BitShares gets promoted in 2.0 and it's brand protected.

Like I said though.. worker proposals can be submitted.. I think everyone though will want marketers to prove their chops by simply doing their own marketing of BitShares and cashing in on the refer... that has been part of it's stated purpose.

[BitEnthusiast]

Why do we need an Internet Marketing Specialist, because they're responsible for:

SUMMARY
Responsible for developing rich, quality content for online sites.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop easy-to-use, clear, concise, comprehensible content.
Research web copy.
Create sites that are optimized for search engines.
Develop relationships with websites to obtain quality links.
Improve search-engine rankings.
Develop and maintain social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Send out quality messages on these channels.
Drive traffic to websites using a variety of methods.
Ensure content appears high on search rankings.
Develop density of desired keyword on page
Research popularity of sites linking to page.
Develop pay-per-click advertising campaigns.
Create Internet ads.
Establish an effective presence on social media sites.
Monitor a company's online reputation.
Approve or delete comments on blogs or articles.
Highlight and encourage positive comments.
Strengthen relationships with power brokers.
Manage and deliver email lists.
Design and deliver emails.
Craft email campaigns.
Integrate other online presences including social media outlets with email campaigns.
Follow up on responses.
Solicit customer feedback and optimize campaigns accordingly.

Why do we need an Interactive Marketing Specialist, because they're responsible for:

SUMMARY
Responsible for integrating promotional elements into marketing and maximizing communications channels to ensure the proper message is delivered to customers.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop and execute marketing programs to promote the company's brand.
Perform lead generation.
Attend trade shows.
Create advertisements, webcasts, websites, and direct mail.
Identify media outlets for press releases and promotions.
Enforce brand marketing guidelines in trademarks, logos, and publications.
Develop and track budgets.
Measure success of various marketing campaigns.
Drive profitable sales, brand growth and loyalty for a number of business areas.
Analyze and support both category and cluster marketing plans to align with brand strategy and achieve annual operating plan goals.
Develop accountability structure for stakeholders.
Develop and execute brand management plans.
Create and enhance agency and partner relationships.
Leverage customer insight data to refine brand management.
Identify brand-building areas.
Ensure brand communication for areas of responsibility are consistent with the company and brand positioning.
Develop and implement media planning, buying, and innovation strategies.
Provide design and direction for collateral, web, product packaging, and other visual communications media for the company.
Help promote uniformity and consistency of brand.

[BitEnthusiast]

If we are to go into more fancy design, for me these two are good benchmarks:
(1) Blocknet - both elegant and informative.
(2) Qora - has recently put a lot of effort into web design but maybe it's overdone, I'm not sure.
(It's a bit strange because they have this fancy website and at the same time their wallet is quite the opposite, it looks like a proof-of-concept prototype - but I guess they will take care of it soon)

Ethereum.org is the best in class in terms of website and message to me at the moment! Have you seen their site?

I agree! Ethereum is shitting on Bitshares marketing wise. To sum up everything I was trying to say in this thread, we need an Internet Marketing Specialist and Interactive Marketing Specialist. I didn't want it to be a debate about how our website should look. Ethereum.org is "Flashy" lmao! Their marketing experts obviously must think that's the way to go.

[santaclause102]

If we are to go into more fancy design, for me these two are good benchmarks:
(1) Blocknet - both elegant and informative.
(2) Qora - has recently put a lot of effort into web design but maybe it's overdone, I'm not sure.
(It's a bit strange because they have this fancy website and at the same time their wallet is quite the opposite, it looks like a proof-of-concept prototype - but I guess they will take care of it soon)

Ethereum.org is the best in class in terms of website and message to me at the moment! Have you seen their site?

[mangou007]

Everything depends on the message you want to give using your website...
Flashy, fun and colorful website give more of an ephemeral image of a product...

Is it really the message we want to pass? IMO I don't think so...

The design is pure and elegant and part of the message we want to pass...

[donkeypong]

Call it whatever you like, but I have to call what we have.. fantastically effective.

There's truly something for everyone here. It IS a crypto-currency that blows away others in its class AND it is a decentralized marketplace AND it's a trading engine AND, AND, AND... We could focus on any one aspect of this and that ought to be enough to skyrocket it. But we have an embarrassment of riches, since there are 5, 6, or 7 different features that solve big problems and each one makes this insanely useful.

[jakub]

Another article on Dynamic vs Static websites:

http://www.blessingforyoubusinessservices.com/blog/static-vs-dynamic-websites-which-do-i-need-for-my-business/

...if you simply want a website that you don’t plan on updating (which is ill-advised) you can go with a static site.

Judging by the links you supplied I think you are confusing two different aspects:
(1) differentiation between static and dynamic web pages refers to the technology being used to power them - the user is not aware of it and it's irrelevant for him.
(2) differentiation between "informative" and "flashy" web pages - that's what makes a huge impact on the way the user perceives us and that's what being discussed here.

[BunkerChainLabs-DataSecurityNode]

I been following this thread.. I thought  should share some real world experience.

Last week I was on a call with some investors who were eager to hear my story. I got into BitShares and talking about our plans with it.

One of the people on the call happened to be vested in some Bitcoin ventures. They were all completely oblivious of BitShares.. so in the course of that call the question they really wanted answered was.. 'is bitshares a crypto currency?' ... because everything I was telling them, didn't sound like it.

While I was on that call one of them decided to hit the web and went straight to bitshares.org. While someone else with economics background and also had heavy involvement in crypto trading was trying to put BitShares to some other comparison based on what I had told them.. the guy who got the website stepped in and said listen to this.. he began basically reading off the headlines of each feature set from the website.

After he was done he said, I just got that off their website.. this is NOT a crypto currency.. this is something else.. this is something bigger.

Following all this he asked me a few very pointed questions that were in relation to BitShares vs. Bitcoin. I won't get into that here.

Nonetheless.. while I like to think my masterful eloquence was the reason why they were so impressed.. it was largely thanks to the website and the impression they were given by it which was very positive.

So while everyone can have their opinions about what they like and what they think everyone else will like.. all I know is that the website, it's design, and it's information as it is.. has quite likely lead to a massive deal.

Call it whatever you like, but I have to call what we have.. fantastically effective.

[donkeypong]

We had some people try marketing BitShares in the Nov-Jan time frame.  The result was that we couldnt get anyone to use the product because the BitShares 0.x client is so slow and buggy.  I personally have a lot of trouble using it.  Without a web wallet at the time, everyone gave up, waiting for such a time when we had a good client/web wallet.  Most of the community went into 'waiting for 1.0 mode' which then became 'waiting for 2.0 mode'. 

Additionally, BitShares is really complicated and hard to explain to most people.   The best target audience seems to be traders.  But I think what we also found was that a better target for bitshares than 'regular people', is businesses.  The focus switched from convincing average people to use Bitshares, to convincing exchanges and business to use Bitshares as their backend/platform on which they build.  These businesses can be rewarded by a good product (Bitshares 2.0), plus referral fees.  Bitshares can profit by having their users use the network and provide transaction fees and referral fees, thus making Bitshares profitable.  Once Bitshares is profitable it becomes desirable to investors.

I think the new model has a much higher chance of success, but again we are in the waiting for 2.0 mode.

Correct. Also, marketing this was tricky because it took too many steps to acquire BTS. People needed to get some Bitcoin, transfer it to an exchange, buy BTS, and then move that to their wallet. We all knew this would be easier when there were some more gateways and on-ramps. There has been good progress in that area in recent months, but clearly more is needed. People need to understand how BitShares (or one of its assets/currencies) helps them solve their problems or make their life easier, but it also needs to be easy for them to get started. Just as it needs to be easy for merchants/businesses.

[Ander]

We had some people try marketing BitShares in the Nov-Jan time frame.  The result was that we couldnt get anyone to use the product because the BitShares 0.x client is so slow and buggy.  I personally have a lot of trouble using it.  Without a web wallet at the time, everyone gave up, waiting for such a time when we had a good client/web wallet.  Most of the community went into 'waiting for 1.0 mode' which then became 'waiting for 2.0 mode'. 

Additionally, BitShares is really complicated and hard to explain to most people.   The best target audience seems to be traders.  But I think what we also found was that a better target for bitshares than 'regular people', is businesses.  The focus switched from convincing average people to use Bitshares, to convincing exchanges and business to use Bitshares as their backend/platform on which they build.  These businesses can be rewarded by a good product (Bitshares 2.0), plus referral fees.  Bitshares can profit by having their users use the network and provide transaction fees and referral fees, thus making Bitshares profitable.  Once Bitshares is profitable it becomes desirable to investors.

I think the new model has a much higher chance of success, but again we are in the waiting for 2.0 mode. 

[BitEnthusiast]

Another article on Dynamic vs Static websites:

http://www.blessingforyoubusinessservices.com/blog/static-vs-dynamic-websites-which-do-i-need-for-my-business/

...if you simply want a website that you don’t plan on updating (which is ill-advised) you can go with a static site.

[phillyguy]

I think when you mouse over a button there should be a pop-up bubble that explains the function or provides a description. An easy enable/disable switch in one of the corners too. I think any client that implemented that simple tool would be at an advantage for referral fees.

[BitEnthusiast]

Article on Dynamic vs Static sites:

https://rocketmedia.com/blog/static-vs-dynamic-websites

I mean to each it's own if you guys feel static is the way to go, then so be it. My input or what will become my expertise is not needed.

[cass]

for example tickr.com site style was AFAIK our 3th or 4th site design a year ago! This design is more 2014 then 2015 ..

Anyway .. bitshares.org should be informative not flashy .. and much more important .. the devs should be able to easily maintain site!
Current site is a static blog framework .. jekyll .. really fast …and maintainable directly with markdown via github ...

We tried it with bootstrap,zurb, wordpress etc... but jekyll is IMO by far the most easliy maintable site framework .. my 2 cents

[jakub]

If we are to go into more fancy design, for me these two are good benchmarks:
(1) Blocknet - both elegant and informative.
(2) Qora - has recently put a lot of effort into web design but maybe it's overdone, I'm not sure.
(It's a bit strange because they have this fancy website and at the same time their wallet is quite the opposite, it looks like a proof-of-concept prototype - but I guess they will take care of it soon)

[EstefanTT]

I think we need to go with what's trending.

But maybe the *actual* trend is that people are fed up with flashy sites without substance.
The current bitshares.org deign is stable, solid and informative - and that's the way to go if we want organic growth.
[/quote

Also that !

  ]

[EstefanTT]

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance.  I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages.  We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient.  The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability.  I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.

I completely agree !!!

I love the new website. The structure, the design and the content are IMHO perfectly aligned with the message of BitAshares.

More flashy, coloured and funny design will appear for teenagers, gamers, old people, ... with 3rd parties as BitShares grow.

[jakub]

I think we need to go with what's trending.

But maybe the *actual* trend is that people are fed up with flashy sites without substance.
The current bitshares.org deign is stable, solid and informative - and that's the way to go if we want organic growth.

[BitEnthusiast]

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance.  I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages.  We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient.  The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability.  I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.

I have to disagree. The trend is simple, minimalist, flat design styles, most sites don't use flash design. I think that those design styles do convey a clean and efficient platform. I think the people we are trying to get to build around our tech is everybody. The back-end may be consistent and reliable, but what about the front end? UI/UX is about communication. How could we tell Bitshares story with a outdated design? Did you look in the categories and not the behance website itself?

This goes back to having 3rd parties develop wallets.  Currently limewallet, web wallet, and desktop wallet are the only versions available.  Soon moonstone will be released as another wallet.  It will be up to 3rd parties to design wallets to attract users.  They will get paid via referral fees that are automatically credited to their accounts for every transaction that their referred user makes.

The bitshares GUI that is in development is actually designed to be phased out of use as 3rd party solutions grow in numbers.  This may not happen for years, so extra time is being spent on the wallet by cryptonomex to ensure that it is responsive and attractive.

If you feel that the wallets are unattractive, then that is an opportunity that you can capitalize on.  Create a wallet design that you feel is better than everyone else's.  If the market thinks yours is the best you will attract the most users and benefit from referral fees of every transaction your wallet user makes.

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance.  I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages.  We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient.  The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability.  I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.

I have to disagree. The trend is simple, minimalist, flat design styles, most sites don't use flash design. I think that those design styles do convey a clean and efficient platform. I think the people we are trying to get to build around our tech is everybody. The back-end may be consistent and reliable, but what about the front end? UI/UX is about communication. How could we tell Bitshares story with a outdated design? Did you look in the categories and not the behance website itself?

This goes back to having 3rd parties develop wallets.  Currently limewallet, web wallet, and desktop wallet are the only versions available.  Soon moonstone will be released as another wallet.  It will be up to 3rd parties to design wallets to attract users.  They will get paid via referral fees that are automatically credited to their accounts for every transaction that their referred user makes.

The bitshares GUI that is in development is actually designed to be phased out of use as 3rd party solutions grow in numbers.  This may not happen for years, so extra time is being spent on the wallet by cryptonomex to ensure that it is responsive and attractive.

If you feel that the wallets are unattractive, then that is an opportunity that you can capitalize on.  Create a wallet design that you feel is better than everyone else's.  If the market thinks yours is the best you will attract the most users and benefit from referral fees of every transaction your wallet user makes.

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance.  I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages.  We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient.  The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability.  I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.

I have to disagree. The trend is simple, minimalist, flat design styles, most sites don't use flash design. I think that those design styles do convey a clean and efficient platform. I think the people we are trying to get to build around our tech is everybody. The back-end may be consistent and reliable, but what about the front end? UI/UX is about communication. How could we tell Bitshares story with a outdated design? Did you look in the categories and not the behance website itself?

This goes back to having 3rd parties develop wallets.  Currently limewallet, web wallet, and desktop wallet are the only versions available.  Soon moonstone will be released as another wallet.  It will be up to 3rd parties to design wallets to attract users.  They will get paid via referral fees that are automatically credited to their accounts for every transaction that their referred user makes.

The bitshares GUI that is in development is actually designed to be phased out of use as 3rd party solutions grow in numbers.  This may not happen for years, so extra time is being spent on the wallet by cryptonomex to ensure that it is responsive and attractive.

If you feel that the wallets are unattractive, then that is an opportunity that you can capitalize on.  Create a wallet design that you feel is better than everyone else's.  If the market thinks yours is the best you will attract the most users and benefit from referral fees of every transaction your wallet user makes.

I will definitely take this into consideration. I also plan on taking up a Bachelors of Science degree in Internet Marketing in the near future, ever since the writing of this post. I want Bithsares and cryptocurrency to reach mass adoption and I truly believe that a simple way to communicate is key.

[lil_jay890]

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance.  I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages.  We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient.  The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability.  I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.

I have to disagree. The trend is simple, minimalist, flat design styles, most sites don't use flash design. I think that those design styles do convey a clean and efficient platform. I think the people we are trying to get to build around our tech is everybody. The back-end may be consistent and reliable, but what about the front end? UI/UX is about communication. How could we tell Bitshares story with a outdated design? Did you look in the categories and not the behance website itself?

This goes back to having 3rd parties develop wallets.  Currently limewallet, web wallet, and desktop wallet are the only versions available.  Soon moonstone will be released as another wallet.  It will be up to 3rd parties to design wallets to attract users.  They will get paid via referral fees that are automatically credited to their accounts for every transaction that their referred user makes.

The bitshares GUI that is in development is actually designed to be phased out of use as 3rd party solutions grow in numbers.  This may not happen for years, so extra time is being spent on the wallet by cryptonomex to ensure that it is responsive and attractive.

If you feel that the wallets are unattractive, then that is an opportunity that you can capitalize on.  Create a wallet design that you feel is better than everyone else's.  If the market thinks yours is the best you will attract the most users and benefit from referral fees of every transaction your wallet user makes.

[BitEnthusiast]

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance.  I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages.  We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient.  The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability.  I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.

I have to disagree. The trend is simple, minimalist, flat design styles, most sites don't use flash design. I think that those design styles do convey a clean and efficient platform. I think the people we are trying to get to build around our tech is everybody. The back-end may be consistent and reliable, but what about the front end? UI/UX is about communication. How could we tell Bitshares story with a outdated design? Did you look in the categories and not the behance website itself?

[lil_jay890]

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance.  I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages.  We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient.  The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability.  I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.

[BitEnthusiast]

Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.

Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/

Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.

tickr.com

IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.

[xeroc]

I know site has been re-designed a few times but will it be done again to match with the graphene gui? I don't know, it could feel more dynamic. The current one looks too static.

The current one is a jekyll static page and was intended to be as "static" as possible .. What "dynamic" elements does it need?

Don't you find it difficult to navigate through webpages that changed all 6 months? I really like the structure of bts.org it currently has .. but of course .. constructive criticism is always welcome.

[jakub]

And no I haven't seen the limewallet. Can you post some snapshots?

Here are the snapshots:
https://bitsharestalk.org/index.php/topic,17900.0.html

[Akado]

I know site has been re-designed a few times but will it be done again to match with the graphene gui? I don't know, it could feel more dynamic. The current one looks too static.

[xeroc]

The graphene user interface snapshots still look outdated to me imho. Do not get User Experience mixed up with User Interface, while the GUI might be responsive (UX) and may be beautiful (UI) to some consumers and costumers may disagree. The objective is to appeal to all users and be easy enough to use for a 10 year old.

Usability is an expensive thing to optimise .. take a look at Microsoft .. they have billions of $ and stick suck at this.
The Graphene UI is designed after "traditional" exchanges .. and open source .. if you feel you can do better I encourage you to do so!
If you succeed and people prefer your wallet you can make a lot of money from referrals ..

[BitEnthusiast]

Also i want to add .. idk why people thinking that UI/UX and CI design is just a marketing instrument .. IMO this is a seperate section ...
and should not just get included under the marketing section..

I disagree. Would you agree or disagree that if you visit a web page that is hard to navigate, load slowly, and looks visually unappealing that it would be bad for user experience? Or that a UI that's not easy, efficient, or enjoyable when operating a machine or a computer is not user friendly?  UI/UX is a marketing tool IMO.

"Marketing is a form of communication between you and your customers/consumers with the goal of selling your product or service to them."

Bad UI/UX means bad communication.

I don't know why you are complaining about the GUI when 2.0 with a brand new interface is set to be released in less than a month.  Are you complaining about the current GUI or have you used/tested the new 2.0 version?

Also look at the limewallet that was just released.  It's beautiful and very responsive.

The graphene user interface snapshots still look outdated to me imho. And no I haven't seen the limewallet. Can you post some snapshots? Do not get User Experience mixed up with User Interface, while the GUI might be responsive (UX) and may be beautiful (UI) consumers and costumers may disagree. The objective is to appeal to all users, not just the Bitshares community and be easy enough to use for a 10 year old. I know that without a finished product it's hard to work on these things.

[lil_jay890]

Also i want to add .. idk why people thinking that UI/UX and CI design is just a marketing instrument .. IMO this is a seperate section ...
and should not just get included under the marketing section..

I disagree. Would you agree or disagree that if you visit a web page that is hard to navigate, load slowly, and looks visually unappealing that it would be bad for user experience? Or that a UI that's not easy, efficient, or enjoyable when operating a machine or a computer is not user friendly?  UI/UX is a marketing tool IMO.

"Marketing is a form of communication between you and your customers/consumers with the goal of selling your product or service to them."

Bad UI/UX means bad communication.

I don't know why you are complaining about the GUI when 2.0 with a brand new interface is set to be released in less than a month.  Are you complaining about the current GUI or have you used/tested the new 2.0 version?

Also look at the limewallet that was just released.  It's beautiful and very responsive.

[BitEnthusiast]

Also i want to add .. idk why people thinking that UI/UX and CI design is just a marketing instrument .. IMO this is a seperate section ...
and should not just get included under the marketing section..

I disagree. Would you agree or disagree that if you visit a web page that is hard to navigate, load slowly, and looks visually unappealing that it would be bad for user experience? Or that a UI that's not easy, efficient, or enjoyable when operating a machine or a computer is not user friendly?  UI/UX is a marketing tool IMO.

"Marketing is a form of communication between you and your customers/consumers with the goal of selling your product or service to them."

Bad UI/UX means bad communication.

[cass]

Welcome BitEnthusiast,

welcome on board! Feel free to contribute your ideas!
I would love to see some references of what you think what's cutting edge design!

Also i want to add .. idk why people thinking that UI/UX and CI design is just a marketing instrument .. IMO this is a seperate section ...
and should not just get included under the marketing section..

Also i would love to add .. if i would be able to contribute like i want to .. BitShares would have another suit ... just said ..
Eager to see your ideas

[BitEnthusiast]

You seem to be an expert in graphic design.. why not make a contribution with an updated design? I am sure there will be a decent bounty for it.

I'm not really an expert in graphic design, but as a millennial I do know what's in. I don't have any experience designing websites, mobile applications, or coding, but I do have a vision of what I think Bitshares should look like. Just look at your everyday websites and mobile apps that you use. I am a creative person though, so I naturally pay attention to detail and have an eye for what's visually appealing.

BitShares has a long (and, some would say, tortured) history with branding and marketing. It's been tough to sell this, or even come up with a website that tells the story accurately, when the product keeps evolving and when there hasn't really even been a full product yet. We've burnt out a number of very good marketing folks, some of whom were better fits than others. A couple of them still make occasional cameos on the forum and I hope we'll hear from them again when the launch gets closer, but there may well be room for additional help from someone with your background/interests. As for graphic design, talk to @cass, who is the long-suffering master of logos and designs.

Lol I will talk to @Cass. I do believe I know what direction to head in as far as design, ui/ux, and branding. I definitely understand what you mean when it comes to having a full product to work with.

[donkeypong]

BitShares has a long (and, some would say, tortured) history with branding and marketing. It's been tough to sell this, or even come up with a website that tells the story accurately, when the product keeps evolving and when there hasn't really even been a full product yet. We've burnt out a number of very good marketing folks, some of whom were better fits than others. A couple of them still make occasional cameos on the forum and I hope we'll hear from them again when the launch gets closer, but there may well be room for additional help from someone with your background/interests. As for graphic design, talk to @cass, who is the long-suffering master of logos and designs.

[BunkerChainLabs-DataSecurityNode]

You seem to be an expert in graphic design.. why not make a contribution with an updated design? I am sure there will be a decent bounty for it.

[BitEnthusiast]

I've been looking at the Bitshares logo, the website UX (user experience design), the website UI (user interface design), and the Bitshares identity. IMHO everything looks as if it was made in 2005. What is Bitshares doing marketing wise?

I've been looking on Behance at web design, branding, ux/ui design etc., and I honestly believe that everything looks outdated compared to what I've seen. For mass adoption I think we need to start a marketing campaign, and that our identity needs to be up to date with the times. I also believe our software UX/UI should be updated.

Our users need to feel as if they're using the latest applications, websites, mobile apps, and todays mobile sites that todays technology has to offer. I don't want to feel as if I took a trip 10 years back when browsing the web, browsing mobile sites, using mobile apps, or software.

I think this is detrimental to Bitshares identity and future if we do not take this into considerstion. I've started a Twitter account @btsmarketer to promote Bitshares to everyday people, but I feel like Bitshares identity is not up to par with todays standards and that could scare off what could be new users of Bitshares. I know that Bitshares is technology of the future, but our identity is simply of the past.