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Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

toot.kuba-orlik.name

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Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#121

Post by marcosdumay »

Firmwarrior wrote: post #92
sp332 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a net negative for them though? Unless you're a really active or popular poster, you're probably just costing them money browsing the site and not looking at ads.

Well, if I'm not there providing expert input on esoteric programming stuff, memes on StarTrekMemes, or participating in my local community's small sub, they'll all decline in value Reddit will turn into a bad TikTok clone and probably die off to the real TikTok if too many people like us leave

Exactly that.

I'm pretty sure they made the math, and that's the reason old-reddit and the API are still alive despite the many threats and deadlines they published for taking them out.

In fact, I would not be surprised if most deep content come from those (despite most users not even knowing about them), because the new interface and the app are both extremely focused on shallow stuff.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#122

Post by skinnymuch »

JohnFen wrote: post #82
manigandham wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you calling it an unverified myth? In reality there are petabytes generated everyday proving the efficacy of mobile apps vs websites. This has been tested and measured in pretty much every possible way at this point with 100s of billions in ad spend. It's not just real estate on the screen, it's faster on-device processing with lower latency, rich offline abilities, better and more persistent access to more A…

A lot of people I know will simply not use a service if the only way to do so is through an app, due to the dumpster fire that is security and privacy in apps. I understand that such people are a small percentage of the population, but I really do sometimes wonder if companies are even aware that they have a pool of potential customers that they've excluded from even trying their product out.

There’s probably more people who won’t use something on their phone if there isn’t an app for it. If it’s for a bigger activity. Not that either population is that big.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#123

Post by jmcgough »

asutekku wrote: post #56
mojuba wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could it be that the mobile interface was simply better in terms of speed, usability, smoothness of the UX? Complex web apps honestly often look and feel shite in the browser.

Nah, people retain on mobile apps because they have a simple icon to use to get there. It’s extra effort to remember the name of the service and write down the address.

Push notifications are really powerful for creating habits as well.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#124

Post by choward »

solarkraft wrote: post #54
mojuba wrote: post #9

There's an (unverified) myth that retention on mobile apps is better. This is one of those things that marketing people keep telling each other without ever verifying the facts. (Unless you deliberately make the web version inferior, of course.) The reasoning behind it is that you should take real estate on the user's home screen at all costs, because your app's icon will serve as a reminder and people will allegedly…

I personally stop browsing Reddit and Twitter when their fuck-you-banners appear. I have accounts with both, but installing the app or logging in is usually more friction than accessing the content is worth. ... So thanks for keeping my periods of distraction very short! Maybe they just care about their users' mental health and are sacrificing their engagement for it :)

The default Reddit web site on desktop is excruciating enough to use. On mobile it's unusable. I only use old.reddit.com. If that ever went away I would never visit Reddit again.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#125

Post by wallfacer »

spion wrote: post #44
manigandham wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you calling it an unverified myth? In reality there are petabytes generated everyday proving the efficacy of mobile apps vs websites. This has been tested and measured in pretty much every possible way at this point with 100s of billions in ad spend. It's not just real estate on the screen, it's faster on-device processing with lower latency, rich offline abilities, better and more persistent access to more A…

Having petabytes of stats doesn't mean the interpretation of those stats is any good. The retention for your web app might suck, for example, because you're constantly showing popups to the users telling them to switch to the mobile app and once they leave you no longer see them in "the data". The problem with data is that you can't see the things that are real but not in the data.

Qualitative data can be valuable data, even in this quantitative age.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#126

Post by Fiahil »

kuba-orlik wrote: post #12
Fiahil wrote: post #6

> (I'm not going to share the particular details on which request and which query parameter that is) Why not ? It's not like that would matter anyway...

Author here. I just don't want to make patching it easier for Bolt

Well, I don't like to be a party pooper, but there's only two way this can go :

- nobody working at Bolt care that they geofencing is lame. The fault was there since the beginning and the two freelancers maintaining the web version have a long backlog, little visibility and no bargaining power. Plus, they haven't got their contract renewed yet.

- They have no idea your workaround exists. Even if they are bored enough to read Hacker News on a Sunday, their web app is going to be discontinued on the next API upgrade anyway.

Bonus point :

An app is just a nice frontend. I'm pretty sure you could make your own web client and order your own ride with a few API calls even if they patch the fault.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#127

Post by notpushkin »

gregdoesit wrote: post #15

I formerly worked at Uber. I’m surprised that Bolt blocks the web app from working. Uber also built a web app which is incredibly lightweight - here’s a summary on how it was built [1]. It’s a life saver especially if e.g. at an airport and you pay for data over roaming. Uber doesn’t exactly advertise m.uber.com, but there’s no blocking of it. My suspect is that Bold wants you to use their app as they can eg send pus…

I'm not sure if it isn't blocked now, but I remember m.uber being blocked for Russian users a couple years ago. My phone died and I had to change trains in a couple dozen minutes in the middle of the night, so this wasn't a very pleasant experience :')

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#128

Post by Nextgrid »

mojuba wrote: post #9

There's an (unverified) myth that retention on mobile apps is better. This is one of those things that marketing people keep telling each other without ever verifying the facts. (Unless you deliberately make the web version inferior, of course.) The reasoning behind it is that you should take real estate on the user's home screen at all costs, because your app's icon will serve as a reminder and people will allegedly…

> Deception works momentarily and can have an immediate effect on some metrics. Long term though, every user and no matter how smart or dumb, will eventually assess the value it gets them against the money, against their time, or against the "home screen real estate" they provided.

This doesn't apply to Bolt nor any of their competitors. They all work off VC money subsidizing rides and once the VC money dries up users will flock to the next competitor that's being VC-subsidized. This will happen much quicker than the users wisen up to the abuse.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#129

Post by Nextgrid »

gregdoesit wrote: post #15

I formerly worked at Uber. I’m surprised that Bolt blocks the web app from working. Uber also built a web app which is incredibly lightweight - here’s a summary on how it was built [1]. It’s a life saver especially if e.g. at an airport and you pay for data over roaming. Uber doesn’t exactly advertise m.uber.com, but there’s no blocking of it. My suspect is that Bold wants you to use their app as they can eg send pus…

I tried this once in London and it wouldn't work.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#130

Post by Nextgrid »

ehnto wrote: post #58

> So basically I made it easier for me to give Bolt money. You're welcome, Bolt! This is the key takeaway I think, so many online businesses spend so much time trying to push me into their app, or accounts, or subscriptions, that they forget they're supposed to be taking my money. There are plenty of services I would have loved to use, but ya'll made it so damn hard to give you my money and order your services that I…

What you're missing is that a large majority of tech was never about customers' money. It's about "growth & engagement" which can be leveraged to raise astronomical amounts of VC funding, much more than the product itself is ever expected to make (sometimes the product is fundamentally unprofitable and will never make any money).
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