Looking for a few beta testers for my Lemmy Android Client
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https://github.com/christianjuth/blorp
One step at a time, but I love the idea! I only have so many hours so my plan is to get in on the app stores, then build out from there by supporting some of these more niche distribution methods.
Yeah, you do you, but I would not put my time or energy into the big tech app stores, especially not with something where the community understands the need for open source self-hostable software.
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Yeah, you do you, but I would not put my time or energy into the big tech app stores, especially not with something where the community understands the need for open source self-hostable software.
I fully agree with your distaste for big tech. That's why I'm here and not Reddit. However, if I launch an app on mainstream stores, I might get a couple hundred users relatively easily. If I push to the more niche stores/distribution methods, I might get a couple or maybe a dozen users. It's not that I don't want to distribute on the niche stores, but I need to prioritize what will get real users. But my goal is to find a distribution method that makes everyone happy. For example, I have plans to distribute the web version of my app via Docker, but I know I'll have a hard time getting people to pull a docker image. So I've deprioritized that for now. Same goes for PWA. I know I want to improve the PWA installation experience, but I know less people install a PWA on their home screen than app via App Store and Play Store.
That being said, the more people I have asking for a specific distribution method, the more likely I am to prioritize that. Unfortunately, every distribution method I add increase the friction for me to push new releases. I really want to be able to iterate quickly until Blorp matures, then as I find updates aren't as frequent I will build out to more distribution methods.
All of this could change, especially if I found more people willing to contribute to the source code.
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Google requires a dozen or so beta testers before you are allowed to launch an app on the Play store publicly. Given that this community lives on Lemmy, and it’s full of Android users, I was hoping I could recruit a few people.
My app, “Blorp”, is already listed on the official Lemmy website for iOS, but Android has been delayed due to this requirement.
Would greatly appreciate your help, and if it turns out you like my app, I’m happy to make changes based on your feedback.
For closed testing, Google requires you join a linked Google Group before downing the app.
Step 1: Join the testing group
https://groups.google.com/g/blorp-android-app-testersStep 2: Download the app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.blorpblorp.appThanks in advance!
Edit: there’s also a Lemmy community if you want to stay up to date or ask questions [email protected]
You'll probably find a lot of Lemmy users do not use Google accounts and won't be interested in joining a google group or installing via Play Store. Do you have an alternative method for installation?
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You'll probably find a lot of Lemmy users do not use Google accounts and won't be interested in joining a google group or installing via Play Store. Do you have an alternative method for installation?
wrote last edited by [email protected]Not yet, but you're not the first person to ask. I'm also not a fan of the Google Group thing. Unfortunately Google requires I conduct a few weeks of closed testing before I get access to the play store. The only way to run closed tests it to add people by email or via Google Group. Once access is unlocked, then you can install via Play Store like normal.
I'm still operating under the assumption that more Android Lemmy users install via Play Store than other Android stores, but I could totally be wrong. I imagine it skews by community, For example, I'm sure if you ask one of the privacy communities they would tend to avoid mainstream stores.
It would be interesting to pick a more general purpose community (maybe ask lemmy community) and ask people what platforms they use. I also imagine some of the other apps like Voyager may have a better idea since they have a substantial amount of users across multiple platforms.
But I guess my TL;DR is what you're saying makes sense, but it's always better to conduct some research than assume you understand how someone uses your app. Genuinely I would be curious what a larger pull of Lemmy users would reveal. -
Google requires a dozen or so beta testers before you are allowed to launch an app on the Play store publicly. Given that this community lives on Lemmy, and it’s full of Android users, I was hoping I could recruit a few people.
My app, “Blorp”, is already listed on the official Lemmy website for iOS, but Android has been delayed due to this requirement.
Would greatly appreciate your help, and if it turns out you like my app, I’m happy to make changes based on your feedback.
For closed testing, Google requires you join a linked Google Group before downing the app.
Step 1: Join the testing group
https://groups.google.com/g/blorp-android-app-testersStep 2: Download the app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.blorpblorp.appThanks in advance!
Edit: there’s also a Lemmy community if you want to stay up to date or ask questions [email protected]
Going to try out your app. Thunder is tough competition, though.
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Not yet, but you're not the first person to ask. I'm also not a fan of the Google Group thing. Unfortunately Google requires I conduct a few weeks of closed testing before I get access to the play store. The only way to run closed tests it to add people by email or via Google Group. Once access is unlocked, then you can install via Play Store like normal.
I'm still operating under the assumption that more Android Lemmy users install via Play Store than other Android stores, but I could totally be wrong. I imagine it skews by community, For example, I'm sure if you ask one of the privacy communities they would tend to avoid mainstream stores.
It would be interesting to pick a more general purpose community (maybe ask lemmy community) and ask people what platforms they use. I also imagine some of the other apps like Voyager may have a better idea since they have a substantial amount of users across multiple platforms.
But I guess my TL;DR is what you're saying makes sense, but it's always better to conduct some research than assume you understand how someone uses your app. Genuinely I would be curious what a larger pull of Lemmy users would reveal.but it's always better to conduct some research than assume you understand how someone uses your app
You can create a community here to conduct research, as aeharding (Voyager) has done.
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Google requires a dozen or so beta testers before you are allowed to launch an app on the Play store publicly. Given that this community lives on Lemmy, and it’s full of Android users, I was hoping I could recruit a few people.
My app, “Blorp”, is already listed on the official Lemmy website for iOS, but Android has been delayed due to this requirement.
Would greatly appreciate your help, and if it turns out you like my app, I’m happy to make changes based on your feedback.
For closed testing, Google requires you join a linked Google Group before downing the app.
Step 1: Join the testing group
https://groups.google.com/g/blorp-android-app-testersStep 2: Download the app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.blorpblorp.appThanks in advance!
Edit: there’s also a Lemmy community if you want to stay up to date or ask questions [email protected]
It's on Jerboa. It's on Thunder. It's on Interstellar, You can get it on Eternity. It's on Voyager. It's on Raccoon. It's on Blorp. Download Blorp it's on there. Download Blorp.
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but it's always better to conduct some research than assume you understand how someone uses your app
You can create a community here to conduct research, as aeharding (Voyager) has done.
Ok, I ran a very not scientific poll. Of 55 Android users, 33 said they use F-Droid to get their Lemmy app of choice, and 22 said they use Google Play.
I would still say Google Play is significant enough that I want to distribute there, but I’m genuinely surprised F-Droid is so popular here. I stand corrected, and there’s a good chance you’re right that F-Droid is more popular here than Google Play.
I’m going to keep an eye on the poll as more votes roll in, but it seems to be moving at a fairly consistent ratio of 3:2 F-Droid to Play Store.
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Great catch! I have a fix, but it might take me a couple days to cut a new release. Cutting a new release takes a bit of time, so it's easier to batch a bunch of bug fixes all at once. Let me know if you see any other bugs and I'll see if I can sneak them all into a release.
Btw, follow [email protected] if you want to stay up to datewrote last edited by [email protected]Just followed! I've mostly switched over to this from Boost and Sync in the last couple days; you're doing really great work!
I have a small, totally unsolicited idea/piece of feedback (please feel free to utterly disregard it):
The logo and the name are both really cute, but they don't immediately make me think of Lemmy. I've had a few moments in the last two days where I've blanked on the name of the app while looking for it in my app drawer, which might just be my memory fritzing out. But here's my thought: the UI design in-app is really lovely in a kind of wintry way, and kind of makes me think of an arctic tundra, which is where Lemmings are typically found.
Tundra would be an absolutely killer name for this app, as it would evoke a place for Lemmings, and it would fit the kind of lunar/cold theme you've already got going.
I realize this suggestion could easily feel very presumptuous, or even unwelcome, so please forgive me if that's the case. Just a thought! Regardless, this has quickly become my preferred app, so I'll definitely keep using and supporting
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Just followed! I've mostly switched over to this from Boost and Sync in the last couple days; you're doing really great work!
I have a small, totally unsolicited idea/piece of feedback (please feel free to utterly disregard it):
The logo and the name are both really cute, but they don't immediately make me think of Lemmy. I've had a few moments in the last two days where I've blanked on the name of the app while looking for it in my app drawer, which might just be my memory fritzing out. But here's my thought: the UI design in-app is really lovely in a kind of wintry way, and kind of makes me think of an arctic tundra, which is where Lemmings are typically found.
Tundra would be an absolutely killer name for this app, as it would evoke a place for Lemmings, and it would fit the kind of lunar/cold theme you've already got going.
I realize this suggestion could easily feel very presumptuous, or even unwelcome, so please forgive me if that's the case. Just a thought! Regardless, this has quickly become my preferred app, so I'll definitely keep using and supporting
I’m not opposed to a name change. I’m not really great at marketing tbh. Here’s the thing, I kinda hate the Lemmy branding. The technology is wonderful, but I find the logo kinda off putting. I really wanted to build an app that felt cool to use. Naming things is hard, and I’m not claiming that I did better than Lemmy. I also understand most people here probably either like or have no problem with the name.
When I set out to build Blorp, my goal was to appeal to a broader audience. I would love to help bring in new users to Lemmy. ~8 months later, here I am and I think if shifted focus a little to making current Lemmy users want to use my app. I would still love to bring in new users, but that poses the challenge of helping them understand federated social media.
I’m kinda rambling now, but there’s some context. But if someone wanted to build out some alternative branding including a logo, I’d be open to the idea. But it would take time to switch things over and really don’t want to sacrifice the limited time I have to solve bugs.
What I really need if we want to scale this project up is some help. That could be submitting bugs, helping organize GutHub issues, researching out to existing Blorp users to collect feedback, writing code, help marketing to new users. Any of those would be helpful.
