Hey Eileen,

Thanks for interesting on Web mobile template, perhaps you can test on our demo site and see how it goes?

http://easysocial.stackideas.com/

You have to click on the mobile icon, so it will display as mobile layout.

I don't see the mobile icon on my phone.

Ah, we have just updated our demo site and we probably did not install the mobile template on it yet.

Ok, is it possible to ping me here when it's all-set? I've already purchased the mobile template, and love it! If you could also install a switch to show the docker on mobile, that would be good too (anything else you can think of that shows the best of SI on mobile, bonus!).

Here's why I'm asking:

I'm seeking a stackideas working mobile demo showing it's stellar capabilities because after a very long time with patience and investment in prospective alternatives toward the Holy Grail (for me, anyway) in seeking a mobile solution for ES+ I will be offering one that I believe works very well on the top two mobile platforms (native). So now after all this time working on my own toward achieving this (and putting my own site dev on hold), I'm coming back to Joomla and away from my other work.

But before announcing and making this generally available, I need to see what fair price points meet the communities needs, whether ES users want help w/design or if they want a DIY package or some mix of both, and whether there's interest in other features I have as well, such as messaging to the mobile lockscreen and site membership cards for mobile wallet. We're going to start with a smaller launch maybe 2 weeks after all the survey data is in, perhaps a dozen or so users to be sure we get support and custom design process right out of the gate (if there's an interest vs DIY), and can have a hope to support customers as well and with as much passion as you guys support your own.

Using your demo site is a good way to show there's nothing special going on behind the scenes, it's just the various SI software the community knows, loves, and counts on for their sites Hoping to post a few days after I can view your demo on mobile with mobile template and I'll build an app or two, post here, and have a survey to inform answers to those questions above.

Thanks!

Hello Eileen,

Thanks for getting back to me on this. Sure, we'll keep you updated once we deploy the other demo site with the mobile template in place.

Thanks for sharing your progress and would love to see what you have came up with And welcome back to Joomla too!

Hi Eileen, Hi Mark, Hi Anyone else who reads this

Really stupid innocent question here…
I understand that Easy Blog is optimised for Mobile devices.
And there is an App that we can buy for Easy Social that makes it work better on a mobile device.

Why is this the case?

I am guessing that EB is (no offence Mark) in its simplest form a component for displaying long chunks of text.
And that ES does all kind of other much more complex stuff, groups, pages, streams etc

Am I in the right ball park at least?

I would be curious to see a link for a site with the Mobile App activated and an identical one with out it activated.
Then I could look at both on my phone and get more of a feel like this.
It is kind of a weird comparison but maybe like listening to the same Album on CD and Vinyl (Showing my age here:p )

thanks in advance

Paul

Not sure I understand where you are heading with this Paul, are you wondering why there are no apps for EasyBlog or?

Hi Paul, here's my 2 cents on your question:

1) How SI makes their products shine on Mobile

There is a mobile template (not a mobile app) from SI you can read about and purchase here.

As you know, more and more of our users are on mobile. That's why site owners/admins would love to have our site accessible on mobile. We'd also like to be able to use the various native features on a mobile device to best engage, support, reach, and delight members of our site as well. I believe SI knows that and has done so much toward making all of their components sing on mobile. From the SI app store where they sell their mobile template (it's just like a Joomla template you'd apply to your site, but it's a plugin, it's not an app):

Renders your site beautifully on mobile devices with this template. Developing native mobile apps are getting costly and it's going to take a lot of time maintaining a native web app.

Having a mobile layout would enhance the user experience when visitors visits your site on their mobile devices.

This mobile template works with all SI products. I have a license and recommend it to everyone who uses SI products and desire the best mobile experience for their users.

SI also has another plugin I have licensed and recommend called Docker which you can read about and purchase here. In summary, it offers system alerts, improved page load, and menu navigation for mobile, again SI is always seeking to delight mobile users.

2) How can a site owner/admin demonstrate/see the difference of SI products on a mobile device/tablet vs a laptop/pc?

Well, soon SI will post in this thread when their ES demo (actually will work for all their products), viewed from a browser on your mobile phone allows you to select the "mobile template" icon. This switches to the mobile template. Hopefully they will add an option to show docker as well. This will show you exactly what the mobile template plugin and Docker alone or together can do to make the mobile experience stellar for your site members.

To see the difference without using it, simply turn off the mobile template when browsing the demo on your mobile phone. The difference will be clear.

I'll be posting one or more actual live demo apps as well, and you could look at those while looking at the SI demo from your laptop. Either way works, but you'll see more native mobile features demonstrated alongside SI products in what I post because it's actually a mobile app vs just a website on mobile. You may not need that, which kinds goes to my answer to your question below (hope I understood your question correctly):

3) What's the difference between EB vs ES vs ED etc. each product is intended to meet a particular user scenerio / user need for sharing, reading, searching, modifying, or communicating information. Whether to use one or the other depends on the user scenario and what need you're trying to fill, what problem you're trying to solve. If you tell me what that particular need is, I could share why/how a particular SI component is a good or bad fit. Sometimes no SI product fits that need. Sometimes it's one, or a mix of them. You have to know your customers well and SI products as well too. I remember the saying, just because you have a hammer doesn't mean every problem is a nail

4) Mobile Apps

Now, you don't need a mobile app in order to see your site on a mobile device. And SI has the mobile template and docker to make this an awesome experience. That's all so many users need. Plus, you can make a bookmark to your site, use the mobile template and docker, and walla, you have your site on mobile!!!

But, for some user communities this isn't enough. Many users are so familiar with the App Store or Google Play, they actually want to download an app from there.

Also, we now have push notifications to the web browser, but that might not be sufficient for some who want to push messages to the mobile device, the lock screen.

Moreover, there are native capabilities on the phone that can be leveraged alongide a social community (or any SI product used in your site) to maximize the value-add for your end-users, make a delightful end-user experience, differentiate your site from others, better fit in with the traditional world so many of our non-programmer site members live, which is the world of mobile apps.

Just one of an almost unlimited examples let me share that I use the membership card solution I've created and referred to above (it'll be an add-on for those who'd like it, maybe bundled in but price sensitive --- anyway, they're stored in the mobile wallet on iphone/android) but also the Events Booking component from a different vendor: JoomDonation. Both of those can generate a QR code to meet various workflow needs of the feature so the user scenarios can be met. Including a QR reader in your mobile app that also supports SI products means you don't have to worry "does the mobile user have a QR scanner installed" --- because you wanted it there, you put it there, or we did for you when we helped design/build your app! You wouldn't believe how long I've been waiting for a QR reader in a Joomla product that could be flexibly used for my customers needs like this, and not as a Porsche-priced custom development job or single-purposed task. I've investigated more than one Joomla vendor to market test what's available, at what price-point, for what closed vs open use so I have a fairly good knowledge on this

So to sum it up: I love SI products! But I also needed a working mobile platform for my Joomla web plans because I know my users are on mobile and I'm a dinsosaur if I'm not there alongside my site as well. That's why I invested so much time and resource using the solution I have and based on my experience investigating other altnernatives, I know this is amazing and will really change things up. It's not just for ES, it's for all SI products.

Hi Eileen

Thanks for your amazing detailed reply.
I need to put my thinking cap on.
And will give this the though full response it deserves.

@ Mark I think Eileen has answered most of my questions.

Problem is that I need to think this through some more…

more to follow...

Paul

OK here goes nothing.
I am attempting not to get too bogged down with the ins and out of templates/apps etc.

If I take my site as an e.g.

https://www.finalbug.net/

a) I guess the heart of it is the page where I display videos which is in an ES Group*
*It would probably be a good idea to have users be able to download these videos.
To watch later on their phone even with out WLAN.
b) Need a payment Gateway in front of this AKA HikaShop,
c) I want to tie the discussions into the Group and probably ultimelty into ED*
*Possible also using something like this:
https://stackideas.com/apps/item/3360-stream-anywhere-module
As suggested by Sabih here in a some what different but similar context:
https://stackideas.com/forums/komento-integration-with-hikashop
d) It would probably be a good idea to have notifications about discussion about videos pop up...
And yes this is already here;
https://stackideas.com/apps/item/3355-web-push-notifications
Yes. Of course, preferably on the front screen of my phone and not just in my browser/web app or what ever it is.
Indeed I have seen "WhatsApp" & "Transfer" messages wih my own eyes on the front screen of my phone!
So I watch at leisure with out WLAN and search for hot spots to get reactions to my videos/discussion on the move…
e) I think I get the idea of the Docker and this being an important element that ties this all up.

If I am not mistaken Eileen amongst many other things you are talking about something I only learnt existed about 1 week ago called wait for it drum role… People Engagement Optimisation...

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/forget-seo-focus-peo-daniel-trattler

...with emmmm a large pinch of a QR reader application thrown in for good measure.
I noticed that the box in which my hover bags comes in has a QR code on it.
I guess I can photograph it and then some how the type of hover bag I need is stored in my phone.

More thinking required with respect to the QR reader thing...




ps the authors comment in the above linked is gold by the way

To use another writing example, the strategy of using formulas to write books, movies and TV shows work for a while. Basically copy a successful paradigm and work it to death. Hollywood has been doing it since forever. But great writers, TV producers and movie makers are great because they break the mold and usher in a new paradigm. If we want our brand to be special, don't we need to invest that kind of care?

Paul, your site link didn't come through, could you edit it and fix the link?

When StackIdeas adds the mobile template and docker to their demo for EasySocial (not there yet, just checked) you may buy it and if so I could put together a mobile app for you to look at so you can see your site as an actual Mobile App with an extra feature or two I'll add like the QR reader with examples working for your site so you see what it does integrated with your site and it's video purpose/mission alone, but also as it incorporates EasySocial.

Yes. Of course, preferably on the front screen of my phone and not just in my browser/web app or what ever it is.
Indeed I have seen "WhatsApp" & "Transfer" messages wih my own eyes on the front screen of my phone!

Yes, but we also support GPS fencing / GPS location based messaging so your interactions with site members/customes can be much more rich, purposeful, and potentially profitable if your sales model is incorprated in it. This may not apply as much to what you do.

But I can think on an example. If you attended a video making conference and wanted to contact your site members who also attended that conference. You could send messages when they were at specific buldings (serving data in context when your customer really wants it/can use it). So when they hit the building where video editing takes place, send that person "20% right now to access our latest video editing tips made by today's presenter, Paul Murray" - customer swipes for the message and clicks the link on the mobile pass to buy (it's a "deep link" to your mobile app!) There are many user scenarios the key is in knowing your members/customers, knowing what your service/product is, figuring out how best to make that connection and, as you learned, "Optimize Engagement of your People PEO"

These capabilities of course are only needed for folks targetting mobile. Most Joomla folks are really only targetting the web figuring a laptop or desktop is where there existing/new members/customers are/will be.

But for those looking to mobile, I hope they check us out! We could help brainstorm and put together solutions like these if you wanted, or if you're capable just unleash your own creativity and see it realized.

p.s. When we get your site and put something together, let's talk outside this post about monetizing the video and best possible alternatives (you got my contact info

Hi Eileen

I have added the link above:

As of now this is the way I am building this…
Go to profile:
https://www.finalbug.net/paul-david-murray
Select a course:
https://www.finalbug.net/paul-david-murray/233-course-list
Which takes you here to Hika Shop Market place:
https://www.finalbug.net/component/hikashop/product/21-from-es-hs-app-test123

Obviously I have a Hika Shop Market place page but it is only visible to admins as of now.
So that would be the other way to get to courses in the future:

Courses would be groups and look something like this:

https://www.finalbug.net/groups-learn-post-production-socially-fcpx-and-more/groups/26-final-cut-pro-x-social-learning/videos

I am probably going to go with a reseller similar to "Fastspring" and at this point my iintegration gets a bit wobbly... but doable!

Yes defiantly lets move this conversation into out email programs


Am very curious about what you are doing with QR codes! And where this whole thing is going….

Guess that is like every thing boxes inside boxes inside boxes!

Of for a walk with the dog now and some time away from screen, more later.

all the best

Paul

Hi Eileen, hi All

Yes I took the leap of faith and purchased and installed the Mobile Template. I am absolutely flabbergasted. In my business they say that a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Here are 15 pictures. Every thing is way cleaner and the ES nuts and bolts are all pushed to the front… And of course every thing feels about 5 times faster. Did I say I was flabbergasted.

thanks to Eileen for bringing this up and thanks to the SI Team for an amazing product

all the best

Paul