RE: Steemit Onboarding: Low Hanging Fruit
While I can't really argue this, I do find it surprising that the 3rd party app was a concern. @good-karma has definitely made a TON of progress on eSteem over the month. If it had been made by just anybody (i.e. a new, unestablished user) I could understand, but with him being with us (and a witness) for so long I would've figured that would have garnered him trust. But with it being viewed by outsiders, I can see where that piece wouldn't necessarily be known to them.
I agree with @heritickitten on the likelihood and benefits of large pieces (like the app) being done by a 3rd party (which while applicable, I don't think that term does justice in this type of case.)
Do you think if Steemit were to make a statement/announcement that eSteem was validated (or some other term) by Steemit Inc that it would help on that front? It doesn't seem (as I read above) that the functionality of the app was the issue, purely the trust factor.
Regardless, I really appreciate you bringing the concern of your friends up. This wasn't something that had been on my radar as an issue.
I do think if it was validated or something by steemit it would go a long way to help new users. The problem, which I should have made clearer, for some new users unfamiliar with steemit (the ones I know at least) is that they are not completely sure about posting keys and private keys etc so to 'hand over' one of your keys to a third party alarms them slightly. Which is enough for them not to use it. I certainly don't think there is anything wrong with the functionality of the app, the slowing issue was dealt with and it is quite good to use.
Always happy to input! We are all aiming for the same thing and that is to make this a success!