Before I get started, let me put this article into some context.

Paragraph, the platform you are reading this article on keeps launching exciting and novel features. If you are not on Farcaster or X, you might not be very familiar with those features, but they all come with one goal: to help creators monetize their work and create actual network effects. This article explores the new "Remix" feature and suggests some improvements to the platform at the same time (they asked and I showed up). I promise, though, even for those of you who are not obsessed with Web3 tooling, this is going to be an interesting read and might help you understand this world a bit better.

Since I have been working with several folks now in tech, I know the last thing developers want to hear from us users is "castle in the sky" type of ideas. So I figured, why not stick to the "small" improvements that can make a huge impact on the users and creators alike? Most of my ideas are not new, but I believe they can improve the user experience, make the app feel more attractive (complete) for new users, and even get people to spend longer times on the platform.

To make my wishlist easier to access, I decided to organize the ideas into different categories and noted if the problems are specifically related to the mobile view. That said, I could dive into much more detail, but maybe we can save that for another remix battle at a later point. Let's get going!

Every creator I have been talking to struggles with those two: Discoverability and monetization. This is why these ideas get a front row seat in my article. When I mention "creators" across this article, I am referring to both content creators and professional creatives. It's important to note that their struggles are similar but often not quite the same. Therefore, different approaches should be considered to offer viable solutions.

• Search is Key
  I can explore, I can subscribe, and I can be served with a set of "for you" articles, but I can't search? If I can't search, how can I journey to my favorite places on Paragraph.com in an instant? I don't even look at my bookmarks anymore since the sheer number scares the soul out of my meaty shell. Please stop asking me to add more to the graveyard, and let's add a publication-wide search. It will lead to less frustration and more targeted discoverability.

• A $ for your Tag
  Speaking about "targeted discoverability," how about custom publication tags? Often, what is most popular is not necessarily what a reader is looking for. Interests are not the same for everyone, not even in Web 3. Oh, wait, let me take that back, actually, degens are a pretty aligned crowd, circling around TIPN Tuesdays and BETR bargains. Well, I was talking about the billions of other people we still intend to onboard to Web 3. Yeah, those guys. For their sake, let's make sure they can find publications on Paragraph based on their interests; seamlessly moving on to my next point.

• Let's Roll the Dice
  We have seen it with DAO governance, DeFi, and everything we have invented so far; popularity-based solutions only get us that far, as they are too easy to manipulate. If we want creators to really be discovered and give them a chance at monetization, let's roll the dice. Imagine a discovery board (explore page) that serves both bestsellers and fresh, off-the-beaten-path weirdness according to your interests. I'm imagining Spotify's "Discovery Weekly" but in a more refined manner, where readers can add three tags and hit the dice button to randomize their explore board. Readers get what they are looking for while creators, no matter how small today, get a real chance to make it big tomorrow.

• Too many of those
  This one is more of an open question and a problem I have been silently analyzing whilst petting my little dog on a calm Sunday afternoon: Who the hell needs twenty creator tokens in their own name? Creators essentially dilute their value by having all these disconnected tokens onchain. The only solution I see is to eventually link the different tokens. Before doing that, it will not lead to a genuine monetization tool for creators, hence lacking true impact. I don't have an answer to this, I just know it is not helping the way it is right now.

Writers/creators have feelings too, and we get emotional over everything that helps make our creations shine in the best light possible. Here are some ideas on how to make creators shed a tear or two out of sheer happiness:

• The Floating Widget
  Granted, this one might be a bit of a "castle in the sky" one, but without asking, I will never know. Formatting on Paragraph currently doesn't feel intuitive unless you have used half of your life markdown editors (applicable here), but most creators use Google Sheets or Word. Wanna make dreams come true? Give us a floating widget that follows our writing progress and offers the most frequently used formatting options at my fingertips. A loyal companion like that on my writing quests is like a Witcher's silver sword, but for prose.

• My Precious
  "My brand color is #FEE6EA." "Sorry, we only offer three purple shades and a bit of sad ten other colors." The more customization creators have, the more they get attached to the platform they create on. Instead of offering a pre-defined color palette to choose from, let's provide freedom, aka a HEX color wheel. Finally, our blogs can match our nonexistent business cards, our mood rings, or Telegram chats.

• Suggest the Edit, Learn the Lesson
  Paragraph is awesome in so many ways, but one I truly love is that we can expand our writing teams alongside how we grow as communities. On the ALANA Paragraph, we have several people writing. Some are total pros and only require a light nudge, others are just getting started and need a few dozen sly edits. Right now, there is no way of learning from past mistakes for our noobs. With a suggestion mode, editors could transform into friendly spirit guides and guest writers see proposed changes, learn handy tricks, and don’t feel like their work's been hijacked by a text-loving poltergeist.

Readers are our kings because they actually come for what we have created and potentially even help us monetize our creative brain juices. Let's make them feel like they never wanna leave again.

• Hola, Yo Soy X
  As some of you know, I am a German designer/DAO operations nerd with an addictive tendency to gaming, living in Peru. Spanish is my third language, and I would love to see more Spanish-speaking publications on here. It's time for our Paragraph devs to roll out the Spanish red carpet. South America is full of creative souls and curious readers, but they feel much more at home if we speak their language (naturally). Storytelling shouldn't get lost in translation; talking menus, editing tools, and documentation!

• Book me a Mark
  Why must a reader rely on their memory or browser tabs to save a post for later? Did you ever go back to your wallet to find a post you minted? I minted several and never ever went there again. Let's throw in a proper bookmark feature so ideas and inspiration for readers don't get easily lost like a single sock during laundry day.

• Let me get my Highlighter
  Many publications I follow on Paragraph are smart and instill internal debate for me. This is how I knew I had found my tribe. As a reader, I want to be able to highlight clever phrases and intelligent definitions, and end up with an annotated masterpiece (of sorts, maybe). A highlighter function for readers is not only nice to have; it is proof that someone is actively thinking and spending time on the platform we are hyper-remixing today. Highlighters are badges of honor. Let's honor our readers so they can honor us with some tips.

Let's close out with two of my favorite high-level complaints. I am not just a creator on paragraph.com, but also consume its contents. Meaning I have those two stare right at me every time I explore and hunt for new, exciting publications on this platform. So sorry, but also not sorry for bringing this up until the day I have shriveled away or the lovely devs have fixed these:

• Preseve the Pretty (mobile)
  I am a designer first and carefully select the visuals that go with my articles. If it is 3D rendered, I tend to render extra ones; if it is a screenshot, I make sure to edit it; and if it is AI-generated, I do all of the above and sometimes more. My pictures are not just fillers, they're part of the story. Trust me, both my inner designer self and my thumbs gliding over my iPhone screen refuse to compromise on that.

• Journey's Should be Short (mobile)
  Currently, users have to take a "Lord of the Rings kind of detour" (obviously slightly exaggerating here) if they open the paragraph app in their browser and wish to log in to their personal account/blog. There is no direct login/connect button on my personal paragraph page to access my dashboard directly. Every extra click increases the chances users will abandon YOUR site. Let's give them a login button so their "visit" turns into them "joining."

I know, I promised no "castles in the sky," yet here we are 🤣...

You can't blame me, though. You asked, and all I did was show up to the party. Jokes aside, I am happy I am using a platform that is not only powered by a Web 3 tech stack, but most of all built by a team that wants to learn from their users. Let's move together and support more Web 3 tooling!

PS: I have a whole article on that one 😜.

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