Greetings testers! That has been almost a month since the last issue and lots of things have happened since then. This issue contains some old but still interesting stories, as well as more relevant updates, split into different sections. Some of these sections are also new and experimental. The original "what's new" section contains our top stories as usual.
What's new?
- 📲 Slow Twitter and a feature that Google Maps lacks a lot.
- 📲 Clubhouse is coming to Android.
- 📲 Discord made it easier to create a server and now you can make it in 3 clicks.
Slow Twitter and a feature that Google Maps lacks a lot
How these two are related? Well, I was travelling to Russia recently and managed to experience both things. Twitter is slowed down over there by 10 times due to some unresolved requirements from regulators. It seemed like not a big deal at first look but then it just became unusable for reading. It was still possible to post there and read text from tweets occasionally but without properly loading images I wasn't able to use it as a source for TestingCatalog content.
Secondly, I had a chance to test Yandex Maps on the field and noticed that there you can visualize public transport in real-time. That made it so much simpler to plan commutes compared to Google Maps for example.
Overall, it is always interesting to test local apps and features when you travel because it gives you a unique user experience that you won't be able to get at home.
Clubhouse is finally coming to Android soon
It is the time when most of Clubhouse competitors already managed to release their solutions to the public. Now, Clubhouse for Android became available in the US in an early access mode while staying invite-only at the same time. I don't yet have an invite to share because the app isn't yet available but I will share them on this newsletter asap.
Discord made it easier to create a server and now you can make it in 3 clicks
The latest update made Discord Stages, Clubhouse like feature available to everyone. At the same time, the app got a simplified server creation flow where you can select a template from a variety of different offers. With that in mind, we've got a Discord server for TestingCatalog as well for future testing purposes and maybe some extra gaming content. Join it here 📲
TestingCatalog Project
Starting from February this year I made several bets on different experiments with the TestingCatalog project. One of them was to try to publish frequent (3-5 posts per day) and short news and hope that they will be picked up by Google News and Google Search algorithms in a better way than before. After 3 months it didn't happen, all the metrics have stayed almost the same and I believe they won't change.
But, at the same time with this experiment, I managed to tailor my publishing flow to have all the short news posted on the website. It also helped me to have this newsletter built in a way as it is now.
Regardless of this, the main strategy for TestingCatalog at this moment is to focus on content platforms that don't depend on algorithms like Twitter, Telegram and Email. The core aim is to grow to 10k subscribers as quickly as possible. Currently, I am focusing on Telegram marketing also creating additional support channels that will open an opportunity to attract additional audiences.
Here is the full list of the channels that I manage at this moment
TestingCatalog - The main TestingCatalog channel. Posts from the website, polls and other updates.
telegram-android-beta - The channel about Telegram apps. Telegram APKs, posts from the website and official Telegram announcements.
Android Apps - A new channel about Android apps. Mostly links to Google Play for apps in beta or apps shared with us directly by their developers.
Android Creators - A new channel for content creators. Posts from TC website and shares from other resources on the topic for features that are not yet available.
Appleaks - The legacy channel about leaks and reverse engineered features. Mostly shares from Twitter.
Android Cryptos - A new channel about crypto apps. Post from TC website on the dedicated topic and some other updates.
Android Games - A new channel about Android games. Shares from Google Play, other resources and YouTube for game trailers.
At the same time, TC is not making any profit since the disappearance of Google+ and we need to grow our subscriber base first in order to evolve further. If you are willing to participate in building TestingCatalog Media Company with your time and expertise, please hit a reply to this newsletter.
I am also looking for a Telegram marketing expert to help us running ads over there for some commission. Cheers!
