Optimistic UX
Web3 technology is behind in adoption relative to the amount of internet users and applications. Innovation from all fronts is taking place as we speak, fueled by a growing developer ecosystem.
One key challenge of web3 is the current user experience. We evolved from static HTML sites to Ajax-driven JavaScript frameworks and multitouch displays that make the usage of applications very smooth.
But getting to the current state wasn’t a straight line. Whenever smart developers faced obstacles they found workarounds to solve them. Let’s see some of them.
Single sign-on
Once upon a time people had to manage hundreds of passwords and repetitive signup inputs, then SSO (Single sign-on) become a thing, making this irritating experience something of the past.
Touch & Face ID
Hardware advances made possible to avoid the excruciating pain of infinite 6-number pin inputs per day to something that is totally invisible and secure. Saving millions of wasted seconds in the process.
No-checkout
Thanks to innovations in machine learning and AI, long checkout queues are a thing of the past allowing shoppers to simply walk out with their groceries.
Blockchain
Blockchain technology introduced many drawbacks like transactions, wallet popups, seed phrases, passwords, funds and multi-network (blockchain) dynamics. These are fundamental for securing cryptographic transactions but present many UX challenges. So, are we doomed, or should we be optimistic?
In blockchain terms, Optimistic means that we assume the transaction will come through so we don’t need to wait for validators to reach consensus. This wouldn’t be acceptable for financial transactions because of the double spend problem, but it should be the default when talking about less risky use cases like social media interactions where UX is fundamental.
Dispatcher
Inevitably, to operate on-chain every post, follow, mirror or comment needs signing from the wallet. To solve this issue, the Lens Protocol team pioneered the Dispatcher. The Dispatcher is an intermediate wallet previously approved with signing privileges and with funds that act’s as a trusted signer for every transaction.
Conclusion
Eventually, normal people will not discuss validators, proof of stake and transactions per second as they do not talk today about transistors, assembler, solid states drives or datacenter refrigeration. Everything will be hidden behind an abstract concept like “The Cloud”.
The endgame for solving blockchain UX means abstracting all base layers that orchestrate the backend and having only great applications on top, that just works.
To learn more about web3 technology, refer to my other posts. For more information, feel free to reach out on Twitter.
