spotlight

A quick thread on the changes to the /spotlight app and protocol. 

Updated app launch shortly 

👇

So we did a mini-launch for Spotlight in June

A few hundred people visited the app and a small fraction of that group completed the core user interaction of booking a spotlight.

Change #1: Simplify use case

The initial app was framed like this: every FC user has one unit of “attention” for sale every day for an algorithmic demand-based price.

That could be attention in the literal sense (“pay attention to me”), or selling some service like consulting, advertising, or technical work.


The concept was relatively sound but the product messaging was way too broad for a new project. 

Also, the spotlight price algo - where everyone starts at a minimum price and needs to build their way up – is not well suited to these kinds of professional services use cases.


The smart contracts haven’t changed much but the new Spotlight is a social content sharing app with a relatively clean web2 comparable: 

Spotlight is an algorithmic facebook wall.

Why would you pay to post on someone’s page? 

To signal that something is important. To reach a certain audience. To promote a new project. To tease a good friend in public. To leave a record of something in someone's supply-constrained media-space. To elevate a meme. To curate content and reveal social signal.

Change #2: Refine booking interaction

To book a spotlight previously, you needed to add an image, some text and a link. This was designed to provide users with sufficient expressivity for a range of use cases.

Even though those three steps are pretty simple, it created way too much work and mental overhead. 

Also, people are generally not great at curating relevant and aesthetic image content (the home feed did not look that good), especially without any creation tools.

In the new app, you add a link and that’s it. You’re ready to book.

The app will generate a content preview with image, headline and description.

Change #3: Add signal feature

There is only one core interaction on the spotlight protocol: booking a spotlight. 

You need to pay to post, and even if you didn’t, most users will only consume and never create.

The app needed a lower stakes interaction for the masses.

We replaced @spotlightbot with a frame that casts all bookings and allows any FC user to “signal” that they like or support it.

Each post accumulates a signal score – using the @openrank account scoring system for now. Signals from higher ranked users result in larger increases to a post’s signal score.

Still figuring out exactly how the signal score will be used, but it will inform any algorithmic feed or curation mechanism within Spotlight.

@mjc716 booked @horsefacts.eth's spotlight for 0.002 ETH! 
 

I just spotlighted this thread on @horsefacts.eth profile. 

**ERROR CIRCULAR REFERENCE**

Try it out by signaling in-frame.

I just spotlighted this thread on @horsefacts.eth profile. 

**ERROR CIRCULAR REFERENCE**

Try it out by signaling in-frame.

https://warpcast.com/spotlightbot/0xf4b86b29

It wasn’t a bad launch overall, but after a few days, a couple weaknesses in product design and messaging were pretty apparent. Been working on them since.