DIP 10 - Status as Communication Layer for Devcon

Status as the communication layer for Devcon (on the ground and for satellite events). Utilizing Status as the layer into which many different projects showcased at Devcon plug in for maximum usability.

As we know, whenever we have an event in the Ethereum calendar, several different groups and conversations start taking shape in Telegram, WhatsApp etc. All less than decentralized.

We also know there are many different projects that would be great to showcase but because the schedule is SO full and there are so many wonderful conversations happening, the ability to interact with most of them is stifled for attendees.

The proposal is to use the Status chat, wallet and dapp browser capabilities to enable a smoother experience for attendees. Creating various Devcon chat channels would facilitate communications like:

  • Local knowledge/tips
  • Spanish phrases
  • Good restaurants
  • Side events
  • Satellite events (think people sharing images from their streaming events which we can then use for social/initiative assessment)
  • Devcon Scholars
1 Like

Is there (or will there be next year) a status desktop app? I find some announcements but do not see a download of it. IMHO this is really needed if we want to have status as a communication layer for devcon

2 Likes

@ligi there is currently a Desktop client but it is in alpha. By Devcon 2021, the product will be much farther along, but as with product development, we cant say with certainty where it will be.

I will post updates in the thread regarding the status of Status Desktop

3 Likes

I’d be very excited about Status being integrated into the Devcon stack, but would like to echo @ligi that in order for it to be the exclusive communication layer, there should need to be a desktop app. I suspect that the Ethereum community still draws a fair number of no-smartphone or alternative OS smartphones, and they should be accommodated. In addition, people who prefer using their computers to schedule should also be accommodated.
If Status has a viable desktop app by Q3 2021, great. Even if they don’t, one alternative may using Status, but non-exclusively, allowing for integration with an app that has robust desktop support. The redundancy may be a good idea anyway, in case Status buckles under a sudden influx of users. I mean no respect whatsoever to Status with this. Sudden influx of thousands of users can be challenging, and it may be worthwhile to have backups just in case.

1 Like

We do have a bot option that pulls/pushes into Discord in case Desktop isn’t ready!

1 Like

Then maybe having an official Discord along with Status and a bridge between them?

Does Status have something with a similar layout to a server on Discord, with the ability for one server to have different channels with different permissions?

1 Like

@jonny_z was curious around your comment re: “As an attendee, I very rarely use the official app and rely on my conversations (either IRL or via Telegram) to inform my decisions re where to go next, what events are happening, dinners etc.”
Why is it that you do not rely on the official application? How could this experience be further improved?

How do you see the seamless integration between what is happening at the event to the conversations and interactions happening on Status? (if it is integrated as the preferred communication layer)
What are some system and network considerations that need to be made if we are to assume the worst case scenario? (slow connectivity, congested network, etc)

1 Like

@qnou That was my input :slight_smile: and observations I have made throughout my 2 x Devcon experience within my smaller and broader network.

How do you see the seamless integration between what is happening at the event to the conversations and interactions happening on Status? - having both a mobile & desktop decentralized application for comms (also used to relay official announcements) should be preferable to centralized options. Especially if the wallet and the browser functions are also used - think POAP tokens, we’ll have Keycards to use (hopefully locally too) - thus becoming a truly useful peer to peer option for comms, transactions, ecosystem exploration.

What are some system and network considerations that need to be made if we are to assume the worst case scenario? the chat will be no different than using any other app and will rely on internet connectivity. Ethereum Network congestion will depend on conditions at that time.

1 Like

@ligi @wschwab the team released Status Desktop Beta v0.1.0 yesterday and you can test it out here https://status.im/get/

The team is moving quite quickly on this and I suspect we will be well past v1.0 by Devcon. If there are any features or requirements you would see for the event, please let us know and we can look to potentially include them in the roadmap.

4 Likes

Thanks. I just tried out status Desktop and it looks nice!
So thinking about the DIP a bit more - some questions:

  • Are there moderation features? So if we announce channels - and people spam/scam/… there - are we able to deal with this?
  • you mention in the DIP KeyCard integration - how would this look like?

I think in general the DIP is very vague and could use more details on how you imagine things.
E.g. something like:
In the break slides there could be a mention of a status channel for this room. Like “Join this room on status at #DEVcon6_hall1”. Or in general how would people discover the rooms that are available.
But as a blocker I really see the moderation - if we publicly announce rooms IMHO we must be able to at least delete SCAM posts.

1 Like

@ligi thanks for the feedback.

Moderation: There was in fact a spam attack in Status about 1 month ago and some short term mitigation has already been put in place. Also, the team is working on longer term solutions which can be explored here. A more detailed breakdown of options is forthcoming (stay tuned). While i cannot say if final implementations will be available by devcon (I wont put timelines to the core teams work), I believe we can come up with some sort of solution by devcon.

Keycard Integration - keycard integration is simply one of the many ideas we can work on. For more detail, i suggest reviewing the Keycard specific DIP. With Keycard and Status, we can issue tokens such as NFT’s to grant access to exclusive spaces/rooms for example, make payments,.

Regarding Detail - you are correct. Ill work with the team to come up with more concrete use cases as well as details for distirbution (i.e. mentions on break slides). For now, I think we can focus on the following high level use cases, and define the details in the coming days/weeks:

- Messaging: Set up official public channels for the event (instead of using something like telegram). This can include:

  • News & Announcements - #devconVI-news, #devconVI-speakers, #devconVI-Room1, #devconVI-Room2, #devconVI-Room3. We can add QR codes to the room signage inviting people to join the chat room. We can add QR codes to break slides inviting people to speaker channels or even hidden chat rooms for exclusive content.
  • Interacting with Speakers - We can invite people to ask questions in the public channels for specific topics or rooms.
  • 1:1 & Group Chats - we can encourage people to use Status throughout the event to coordinate with friends. Inviting people to use p2p, ethereum based tools instead of things like telegram

- Access - with NFT’s (i.e. POAP tokens) we can grant exclusive access to talks, rooms, events, or even content to those who hold the NFT in their Status wallet.

- Payments - With the Status wallet, people can send and receive payments for things like food, services, swag, etc. This can also be done in tandem with Keycard.

There are really tons of things we can do with Status so understand your sentiment that this is a vague DIP. Ill put together a more detailed plan with @Simona-Popand share here and in the DIP on Github.

1 Like

100% - I think the initial DIP was to gauge interest and then flesh out :slight_smile:

As @jonny_z says, we’ll follow up with some concrete avenues for the next round of feedback

Here’s a better breakdown of useful features and potential activations between Status and Keycard offerings. The combination of new features and better control on communication should get the proposition closer to a maximum impact flow

https://notes.status.im/v2R6-jSCSkKpkA7CCx-0pA?view

2 Likes

From the last full Q&A round:

Status: Setting up a Devcon community in Status would act a bit like a Discord server where we would have a set of “channels” per topic. Another nice feature can be Devcon designed stickers to be used in the channels - we can launch a competition for this in partnership with SuperRare and ArtProject Decentralised in the run up to the event also…

EF team: Devcon stickers could be cool! We also have a number of Devcon assets designed in-house.

EF team: We (or Status or the community) creates channels for the conference of different topics, but try to avoid channel overload. Not sure we need a channel for every room…maybe. But things like: social/fiesta, food, local tips, etc -

Status: Creating channels within the community is exactly how communities will run. You can choose what channels to create and name them. Sponsors could also create their own channels and create engagement pieces within the channels - anything from token incentivised actions to collecting questions for their talks or encouraging attendees to join their meetups/events/get exclusive swag etc. The community feature will be available on both mobile and desktop.

EF team: Re announcement management. From our end, we want to be able to make announcements easily, ideally by posting to one platform only. For attendees though, we want to make sure that announcement is seen regardless of the attendee uses. Initially I think this could look something like posting to Twitter and having it replicate on Status, the website ‘Updates’ page, and possibly TG/Discord.

Status: Bridging Status with TG and Discord can both be done - a few communities do this as do the Status team for certain channels. Ideally, we would use the decentralised tool to disseminate them so encourage posting them in Status for a one to many dynamic as the message can then be shared in Status with bridges to Discord and Telegram. Twitter messages may need to be shared as links in the channels but will investigate if any alternative is possible.

  • Status team will provide any tech support needed and provide a degree of moderation. The Devcon team will monitor channels for Devcon-specific questions and problems!

  • Status will be responsible for printing handouts given at check-in - Perhaps a small, thin, ideally eco-friendly paper slip that maybe A) on one side describes Status communication app and QR code link to devcon channel, and B) on the other side explains the keycard they are receiving and how to use it.

EF Team: Will app be user friendly enough for general public? If not, maybe in best interest for both status and Devcon to postpone using app until it is ready for primetime.

Status: Yes! One of the things we already support is deeplinks to specific chats so an invite to the Devcon Community will lead users to download the app and take them directly to the community. Users who already have the app can easily navigate to the community or search for it to join. The whole idea with communities is to create spaces that enable easy communication, in line with chat apps in use today, but also coupled with a wallet and browser for easy access to the ecosystem all in one.

3 Likes