Hi Everyone!
Our journey so far has seen significant achievements in a short period of time, with 79 members, 52 communities, and a thriving collection of 2200 posts and counting. As we move forward, I want to share some updates on our roadmap and express my gratitude for the continued support from our community.
Streamlining the Invite Process: We have made enhancements to the invite flow in two crucial ways. Android users no longer need to be part of the test group, and iOS users are no longer required to download TestFlight. This means individuals can directly search and install the app themselves from their preferred app store, and request an invite token from the sign-up page in Openspace directly. Additionally, we have replaced the previous clickable hyperlink (which was causing much confusion) with a unique token for invites, thereby simplifying the process for everyone.
Social Presence Expansion: Our social media presence is expanding, and we encourage you to follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram for the latest updates:
@openspace.social
Translation Challenges: As you've likely seen this past week, I acknowledged that there have been translation issues for users of different language versions of Openspace, which was stemming from references to Okuna, which went offline a few years ago. We've re-integrated with a translation service (Crowdin), and now that language support is updated, we could use any feedback, help, or input from individuals who have strength in these languages: German, Danish, Dutch, French, Norwegian, Portuguese/Brazilian, and Swedish.
Platform Growth and Sustainability: Here is the meat and potatoes of what I'd like to address this week. While we appreciate the generosity shown through platforms like BuyMeACoffee, it's crucial to recognize the limitations of altruism as a long-term growth model. To ensure sustainability, we're exploring options to generate revenue through ads for free users and revenue generated through premium memberships. However, we are still in the proof-of-concept stage, making it ethically challenging to offer premium memberships without a solid user base or sustainable growth trajectory. This is why I've opted to introduce premium memberships in the spring, which is to allow us enough time to gauge the interest in the app over the course of a few months. This could be even longer than the spring if the user base is growing slowly and still requires some time to develop. Ultimately, the point here is that taking money from the user base only to discover that Openspace isn't a viable product for the market would be unethical by any standard.
Financial Transparency: Below is a breakdown of our recent financials for January:
Costs
Development Costs: $364 (covering various fixes and improvements)
Infrastructure Costs: $0 (thanks to a $1000 grant from AWS, otherwise, this would be $85)
Support
Family and Friends Donations (BuyMeACoffee, etc.): $215
Ad Revenue: $3 (due to the low user base)
With these figures, we find ourselves at a current out-of-pocket expense of $146. We appreciate the contributions received but please recognize the need for continued support to cover costs so that we can pave the way for sustainable growth for years ahead.
Call to Action: We are seeking your assistance in growing our platform to a solid user base in the thousands. While we have local outreach plans (I will be engaging local news outlets who would be happy to cover our story), the global community's support is vital to expanding our reach and creating the ripple effect needed for success. So please send out invitations to as many people as possible (this is found in the settings menu under "my invites"). If you require this functionality, please let me know (tag me @mem in Openspace), and I can offer that ability to your profile.
Your generosity has been instrumental, and we look forward to navigating this journey together as we strive to build a vibrant and sustainable community. Thank you for being part of the Openspace story!
@mem