If Steem was to fail...

in #steem7 years ago (edited)
I don't necessarily enjoy being the one to spread fear and doubt around our community but, to be honest, it's not really my intention to really do so. That being said I'm feeling a necessity to express some of the ideas that are going through my mind at the moment. Please know that my intention behind this post, is to simply start a conversation regarding this possibility and nothing more, I have no insider information and I don't consider myself an expert on the subject, just a curious observer that is comfortable asking the ugly questions.

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It would be shocking

No doubt about that, and for everyone who thinks it would probably mean their financial ruin, you might be forgetting to take into account that this blockchain today actually feeds people in countries like Venezuela. Those who would feel as if we lost everything while still sitting on a computer inside a home with air conditioner, would be guilty of being quite insensitive.

Its easy for me to imagine the "I told you so" crowd celebrating their own defeat. As illogical as that may sound, I think in this particular case it rings true. There are those who pounce at the opportunity to call Steem a ShitCoin, a Ponzi and any other negative adjective that tickles their pickle. Those who decided months ago to power down their SP and remain minnows would no doubt proclaim premonition like powers, as they laugh at the jerry's of the world.

The good news that we would not die if Steem goes to zero, as much as we might think we would. I've made enough mistakes in my life to know that after falling down, the floor is about as low as it gets. We would simply pickup whatever mental convictions remain intact and after something comparable to a mourning period would complete, start all over on a different platform or even a different endeavor all together.

The leaders would migrate

And without a doubt some of us would follow. We might not think about the value of social currency to often, but this does not mean its not real or that we don't operate with subconscious understanding. A leader on this platform, a true leader that is, would not simply give up on this whole "cryptocurrency/freedom" idea because just because one token failed. Those who do, would be revealing their true self and I'm not saying that with the intent to hurl insults.

Since Most of Steem's communities spend a lot of their time participating on discord, coordinating such migration would not be that complicated to be honest. As a matter of fact I'm aware of some communities currently considering the move, and as far as I can tell something as dramatic as an "end" is nowhere in sight.

As for the community leader's Stakes well, depending on their diversification efforts and risk management skills some would be wiped out and some would start over with something workable. This however is another aspect that in a way I find not that relevant because, if they found success before and grew to dolphins, whales or what have you. It was because of the value/assets they brought to the platform in the first place. It's not hard for me to imagine following @luzcypher and the #openmic to another platform if the worse scenario was to happen.

A strong competitor would take its place





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It would not be hard or unexpected to imagine who it could be. Most of us who participate of this blockchain are well aware of EOS , Dan Larimer's most ambitious project to date. Dan has not hidden the fact that he is working on Steem 2.0 to those of us who participate of the EOS telegram group.

Other projects are starting to be announced almost weekly with one very special one called ONO running as a DAPP on the EOS platform and being already promoted by some prominent leaders of the Steem Communities. I trust most readers of my blog are familiar with @stellabelle and the @slothicorn community. I found a great article written by her on hackernoon that is a must read in my opinion.

If this experiment fails


We are going to be OK, we are going to be upset, but I trust most of us will figure things out given some time. I for one don't find my experience on this platform to be beneficial strictly because of the money I've made with music and prose, but because of everything I have learned while participating of it. As cheesy as it may sound to some of us, knowledge is power and participating on a platform where effectively there is no censorship is quite priceless. (flags don't delete, no need to argue this point).

I'm making it a point to spend some time learning more of the inner workings of this technology, both with the intention to contribute with something more than words to its improvement and for personal growth. This journey has mainly been about that, at least for me, but I'm sure I'm not alone on that reflection.

I'm saying this and thinking again what would happen to me if Steem fails... I don't know, but I'm sure to be around, I won't go too far, I promise.


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Bullish.
Now I'm almost ready to think Steem is not going to crash this year ;)

The only thing I don't like about Ono is that it opened first for China only, if I am right. There is always controversy at the beginning of all crypto things :P

People will follow other social networks as always. Is people what matters. Technologies always evolve. New better technologies will come. Here it survives the ones that move and adapt earlier than the rest ;) Like in normal natural evolution. That's why proof of adaptability ;)

I think Steem still has something to say, it will be bigger than just for a social network, and yes, competition coming but it has the advantage of being first and it will survive for a long fight at least. Even with all the bid bots ;D

It is always good to think about these things.

I don't like a lot of things about ONO, including the initial distribution to themselves and their friends of 75 vs 5 per year for contributors. 15 years for the collective efforts of everyone else to reach parity in terms of coins? Bleh. Let's see if STEEM can be more widely distributed by then, though. ;)

I agree with you that aspect does seem a little dodgy, that being said like any other idea it must be tested before we slam the gavel.

I am just in the camp that thinks that giant bags of money with no strings attached hampers project productivity. The incentive to perform and produce a viable, worthwhile product is largely removed if the largest reward is given before the results are in.

Imagine if Steemit employees had obligations to deliver updates on a schedule to be able to vest percentages of their stake, for example.

Btw my friend, have you read or seen videos about oracles?

I haven't seen any video. Is there something new? Do you think SMT oracles will save Steem?. I think it is interesting. If an oracle fails, it doesn't mean the entire network has to fail. Others will succed. Diversification. Smart. Bullish ;)

Interesting article on ONO, and the creator is only 23 or was it 24 yrs. old! We had better get used to massive tech innovation coming from China.

Steemit, being the first really viable community blockchain platform of its kind, naturally and expectedly has its challenges. The key to it's future will be whether it can adapt and overcome those challenges. If not, someone else will do it for them on another platform, and many will migrate. That's life isn't it. Not packing my bags yet, however. Would love to see Steemit prevail. Thanks for the informative post.

As some have pointed out on the comments, people are what makes the difference... I have no intentions of packing my bags myself, because the people who are part of my community are here.

Thanks for reading

We're FB friends now so you can't shake me. #realperson

I have no intention to do so! ;)

This is a rather thoughtful and insightful post, Meno! I've been doing some thinking along similar lines. Perhaps I will write a post with such thoughts simply to get it off my chest if nothing else... Nice, bro... and very relevant...

no better time than now... :)

You make many good points here.

The general takeaway should be that if the platform fails, the people will not. The people here are the best parts of the platform, and the only parts that actually matter.

I had made a similar comment on The Writers Block this morning, that regardless of what happens to steemit we'll still be writing, because our focus is on writing, not steemit. It just so happens that steemit is one (of many) venues we publish in.

As with you, as you say, the 'openmic' community would be very portable to another format.

So, even at the end of all things, not all would be lost.

Exactly... the writer's block is not going to disappear, no way...

I had made a similar comment on The Writers Block this morning, that regardless of what happens to steemit we'll still be writing, because our focus is on writing, not steemit. It just so happens that steemit is one (of many) venues we publish in.

What other venues do you guys publish in? another crypto blog or completely not crypto?

Lots of us submit to mainstream (print or online) publications for actual publishing credits we can stick under our name. A 'published on steemit' credit doesn't do much, but a 'Published in April 2018 edition of XYZ Magazine' is worth a bit more :)

I'm still putting some of my fiction on steemit for the instant gratification, but saving my better stuff for mainstream submissions (like many of my fellow writers).

I'm sure when EOS becomes a thing, we'll be publishing there as well :)

I'm excited to see what happens next to be honest..

Well ill read up on that ONO app. Sounds interesting. I want to jump on any opportunity really, but that doesnt mean jumping ship.
Steem will be just fine. I really have no worries there. There is just too much SP locked up to fail. It would really take either a catastrophe or it will slowly all trickle away. Either way, nah, i dont think its a possibility.

Key distinction you make.. its true.. there is no rule that says I can't open an account in ONO and blog there as well... I just might. I'm not one to believe in wearing one colored t-shirts.

Exactly. Well you know me. There isnt a group on discord whose flag i havent waved on my posts. 😂
I love everyone. Hehe. Same goes with crypto

I don't necessarily enjoy being the one to spread fear and doubt around our community but, to be honest, it's not really my intention to really do so

Its fine to ponder upon both waters, lets see what lies on the other side

you might be forgetting to take into account that this blockchain today actually feeds people in countries like Venezuela.

Including Nigeria where im from

It easy for me to imagine the "I told you so" crowd celebrating their own defeat

Lol typically

The good news that we would not die if Steem goes to zero, as much as we might think we would

To be honest i just might, lool

I'm making it a point to spend some time learning more of the inner workings of this technology, both with the intention to contribute with something more than words to its improvement and for personal growth. This journey has mainly been about that, at least for me, but I'm sure I'm not alone on that reflection.

This infact is the realest, i choose to spend my time here to be able to learn and develop with the developments involved, then if it so happens that there is no longer steemit, then i will know ive only lost my physical riches, i didnt loose the knowledge i acquired whilst on here, and what about the relationships, some things will never go

I can't remember who said this and I'm going to paraphrase, but it was something along the lines of:

Invest in your mind all that you can, because that's the investment that always appreciates with time.

And that is the real power my friend

I'm laughing my ass off reading this piece brother most especially this

I'm saying this and thinking again what would happen to me if Steem fails... I don't know, but I'm sure to be around, I won't go too far, I promise.

We will all the alive to see what happens in the nearest future whether steemit would go into extinction or not. We all have to prepare for the worst I believe because anything can happen in the life, the only thing that I know couldn't go into extinction is death 💀 because we all have to die one day.

Those who decided months ago to power down their SP and remain minnows would no doubt proclaim premonition like powers, as they laugh at the jerry's of the world.

This part make me laugh more, they might be right but not absolutely.
What I can say is that we have to remain positive no matter what happens or situation at present. You are really awesome to have to up with this idea. Keep the good work flowing man

Nothing is guaranteed except for death as they say!

Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoy my ramblings.

Old social media sites don't die, they just collapse into small, tight-knit and insular communities. There are still people on Usenet, Livejournal, MySpace, Flickr. Steem is particularly likely to do something like that in its worst case because it's not reliant on being maintained by a single corporation.

you are right about that, the other day someone brought up some stats on myspace and my mind was blown a little bit. As much as we think they are "dead" they have a lot more active users than us... go figure.

Hi again MenO, do you follow Bix Weir at RoadtoRoota? His recent post on YT today did not have good things to say about EOS so I'm hesitant to jump into to something they are doing. Bix is just one crypto guy out there, however, I do respect his insight. Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated. Thanks, Jennifer Mac

Hey @jennifermac , I would say that its too early to have a final judgement regarding the project. There are some things that worry me as well, but then again the developer is someone who I feel comfortable calling a genius. If it was some stranger, maybe I would be slamming the gavel, but not with Larimer.

Regarding the First comment you made, I made that youtube video long ago now.. In steem time its probably vintage. I just probably make a new one with some updated ideas regarding the subject.

I'm personally did not enjoy bitchute in the slightest, i found their interface unfriendly... I realize that's anecdotal, but its not for me. Minds is news to me... I just did a quick search and I had no idea this existed..

I'm of the opinion jennifer that the future of the internet will involve blockchain technology. So if I had to say, whats the "safest" bet, if even saying that is accurate, is to get involved with it as early as possible. We are headed in that direction, and what anyone who is trying to succeed on this changing ecosystem needs to take into account is that there where those that said the internet will never take off, that it would not be more remarkable than a fax machine... some of those who did not adapt in time, ceased to exist.

Thank you @meno really appreciate your insight and agree that blockchain is the next phase the future will have to adopt so we have early mover's advantage.

Personally, what I'm doing with Steemit, Bitchute, and Minds is uploading to all of them. Perhaps Bitchute will start to upgrade or change or go the way of MySpace. With Steemit, I just have not been able to find a strategy and even took a course which basically he used bots to get ahead. Do you think Steemit will start to crack down on this? Honesly, there are posts with that get a lot of money and likes that really are poor quality. I've considered is buying influence through a STEEM investment. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your next video or blog with tips.

EOS - I hear you. The comments from Bix Weir were pointed at Brock - Bix's video on YT was Cryptos and the Darkness - it did bother me.

The content quality issue of Steem is quite obvious to anyone who appreciates honesty. The truth that its really two issues combined into one.

  • Content discovery is not great
  • Wealth distribution is skewed

So, when new accounts create good content, they have to play something I like to call "Whale lotto" you have to be lucky and be found by a whale. So, not only must your content be good, but you also have to appeal to a small audience, the whales (someone that can give you a big boost) and then hopefully the sustainable followers will follow suit. (the ones that will continue to support your blog)

The truth is that the best way to grow on this platform is a combination of relationships, personal development, consistency and good content. Taking the time to have conversations like the one you and I are having is key.

Speaking of key... allow me to extend an invitation to the backstage of steem, something you might not be aware of.

https://discord.gg/kNxM7T6

Thanks so much MENO, your comments seem good and sound. I will definitely take them into account! And will look into the link you provided.

From your comments, it's a confirmation that I need to spend just as much time reaching out to influencers in discussions and relationships to really grow here. Thank you again!

Hi again MENO, I heard a rumor that Dan Larimer may start a Steemit 2.0 Have you heard this and do you make anything of it? Thanks, Jennifer Mac