Hey, @taskmaster4450.

I only managed about 16 minutes of the time with Ned, so I don't know all that was said, but it was precisely because the discussion wasn't really going anywhere that I stopped.

I have no idea what it's like to have a conversation with Ned on a regular basis, but in this case, and others, it's tough to know if he's even listening or not. What aggroed would say and what Ned would answer back with seemed like he was distracted at least part of the time, and not really ever getting to what aggroed was saying, which is very much what you described. If it didn't get much better past that point, I'm glad I didn't listen longer.

Here's what I gleaned from what I heard:

People from the STEEM community offering to do things is, at least for now, a no-go. I'm not sure if it's because Ned thinks people would want to be paid for what they would do (which is only proper, but in a cost savings, fire 70% of your workforce mode, out of the question), which may be why the offer blocktrades et al made a while back didn't go anywhere.

If the offers to help are to do the work for free, or to do it for free now in exchange for some kind of compensation down the line, especially after the fruits of such labor manifest, well, that's a hard row to hoe, too, since expectations from both sides generally won't align. Also, depending on folks you don't really know, haven't screened, don't know what they can even do, or that really aren't obligated under any kind of employment, time frame or spec, that's also a hard place for a company CEO to go.

When asked what the community could do to help, and then having things like communication and marketing be that possible help, Ned essentially replied that they were looking within Steemit Inc to see how those needs could be addressed.

In other words, just like any other corporate entity, no matter how much the STEEM community might wish it to be otherwise, Ned's not ready, and may never be ready, to collaborate with the community on that level. Even at a time where it might do some good. I guess I can't blame him. There's plenty of people running around thinking they know what he should and what he shouldn't do from the outside looking in. All these people really know is, they don't like what happened. They don't know why it was done, and why other alternatives weren't considered.

I suppose, though, in this age of everyone can do everything (regardless if they actually have the skills to do it), that second guessing is king, until one is actually filling those CEO shoes, and then you become Ned and every other company head. Why? Because it's your company. It means something, and you still want, and rightly so, control over what your company does. And, to my knowledge, most businesses don't function, or prosper, when ran by committee.