The Decentralized News Network is a project with a clear mission, to provide an incentivized political news platform that delivers citizen journalism via a decentralized network.

As DNN is news for the people, by the people, it is a natural fit to ensure that the platform accommodates the needs and wants of the user community; the very people who believe in the necessity of blockchain-powered, factual news coverage. We mentioned in an earlier blog post that the Alpha has been made partially open-source, here.

We also believe that it’s important for the community to have access to a developed platform and an opportunity to provide meaningful feedback, as well as ensuring active engagement, before raising funds.

Validation for a project is critical because it asserts that we’re building something that is warranted and wanted.

So, without further adieu, here is a summary of some of the noteworthy and constructive comments received from the DNN community:

A source for balanced, factual news

“This is the most interesting ETH project I’ve heard of yet. Last night I came across DNN on dapps.ethercasts and I’ve been researching you guys ever since. Currently I’m listening to your “The Block Chain Show” podcast and wondering how can I get involved. Through out my life the internet has been the one place I’ve found a positive view of the future. The first time I bought Bitcoin or any kind of crypto was in 2012; that turned out to be best decision I’ve ever made. Understanding the possibilities of our crypto-community, I’ve fallen deeply into this idea of an open internet and decentralized everything.” — Parker W. “I wish you guys success. The public needs you to be successful! I’ll keep my eye on your progress. — @alexanderchopan” “Just found the DNN. The future of all real news.” — @misrajitas

Keep the messages coming. We’re always looking for constructive feedback in order to build the platform you want.

Bettering the UI/UX

“Looking great guys! One question- why do you need to pick an account type? Presumably both reviewers and writers will want to read other articles. Also best case scenario you have people interacting with DNN on multiple levels. Is it possible to give all users the option or make it easier to switch between account types?” — @Katty88 “Todays news — the entire widget is clickable but that brings me to another page where I see the same articles again. Since I can already scroll on the home page if I click an article I should go directly to that article not to another landing page, essentially requiring two clicks to see an article. Overall though, considering what’s there, this is looking surprisingly polished for such an early alpha.” — @alicecho “So far, I like what I’m seeing, although here is a suggestion to further improve the experience. I would love to see the homepage display more articles to grab the reader’s attention. The three column approach is fine but at least two should be content related. I would put user information (wallet balance and articles read) in either one column or possibly in the header. From there you can lay out the articles in a much more enticing way for readers.” — @crazy4coins

Next week you’ll see another update to the Alpha, one we’re really excited about. As mentioned here, we’ll be providing a simulated DNN platform for mainstream users who may not have a web3-enabled browser or familiarity with blockchain but who are still curious about the platform.

“The simulated experience, which will be available via the DNN website, will allow the broader community, specifically the journalism community, to explore the platform and provide valuable feedback without having to purchase and provide tokens.”

What you think matters to us. We invite you to test out DNN and share your thoughts with us on slack, or telegram. You can find our white paper here.

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