RE: Proposed Changes to Steem Economy
I have powered back up tens of thousands of dollars. Most of that was at much higher prices (some probably at least 10x the current price, if not higher, though most at 2-5x).
I have no strong expectation of this proposal being a magic bullet that will suddenly recover all those losses. I do think it is an improvement overall and gives Steem a better chance to succeed assuming other good work continues to be done at a reasonable pace, such as making the platform more compelling and less narrowly targeted as well as better marketing and promotion (actually just having some at all would be good).
My biggest concern is that the focus in this proposal on tweaking coin parameters is seen as a "fix" and takes the pressure off of absolutely essential platform development. The large cuts to witness rewards will withdraw funding (ideally not abruptly) from valuable independent developers and development efforts, making this an even more centralized ecosystem dependent on Steemit for funding and development. More than ever, Steemit needs to step up on creating something with broad appeal and utility. If not then the changes in this proposal will not matter. At best they will buy some time.
Agree. However, I DO like the attempt to make Steem a viable cryptocurrency. IMO, that will be good for the platform overall and remove some of the ponzi stigma (however unjustified).
I agree with your assessment of people seeing this as a "fix". Creating something with "broad appeal" is absolutely a necessity since other platforms are about to be launched that could potentially slow the momentum here.
"About to be launched" is much different from actually launching. They COULD hypothetically compete but dont look for it anytime soon if at all. Dont hold your breath is my point. Just because someone has great marketing and tells you they are going to build a blockchain based social media platform, does not mean their blockchain will support the kind of volume steem does and can today.
For instance, Ethereum has a team of highly intelligent people telling everyone at the final quarter of 2017 (next year) they expect to have Casper completed, which should enable ethereum to scale to be able to reach the kinds of transaction volumes you see on things like bitshares and steem. Meanwhile back at the bat cave....
BitShares and Steem are doing it TODAY--Steem long ago surpassing the transaction volume of both Ethereums combined... It is imperative that when you speak, you know what you are talking about. Otherwise you're misinforming.
Now that I feel like I have had a beatdown session on you, I will say I hope you realize it is not with ill intent that I speak. Rather, it is with a sense of hope that you will recognize that the 73 beside your name does not mean you know everything there is to know about blockchains. Wielding that reputation to spread wrong information as fact will not last forever.
I don't think that even matters. If Steem/it does not move ahead with a successful and effective development process that rolls out compelling improvements to the platform at an accelerated pace, it will not be successful in capturing the attention and interest of users (and therefore not successful at all) regardless of what others do.
I'm beta testing next week.
Why would you make the assumption that I "know everything there is to know about blockchains?"
I have never claimed that. You are guilty of assumption based on opinions not facts when you claim "wrong information". You don't have any idea about this information, but instead choose to use opinions.
I've never criticized the technology, and in fact I am quite impressed with it. I am not impressed with the leadership and communication so far. I know that you are very passionate about this place but it would do you some good not to suffer from tunnel vision. Have a look around and see what others are doing. More importantly, see how leaders operate by asking questions, creating surveys and building their network around what users want. If this was supposed to be a blogger's destination, why have most of them left? By avoiding the elephant in the room, not listening to those who provide the content, it's showing some serious vulnerabilities in the leadership.
I've been in the IT industry for +15 years and launch some venture by myself difficult to move to next level. From day 1, we new competition will come and they haven't launch. Even if they launch, do they have any tested infrastructure.
Always a voice of reason. Thanks @smooth. When I saw this post, I quickly scrolled down to see if you had replied. I agree with everything you've said here (including a more gradual approach to changing the percentages).
This is a complicated economic experiment. I agree, these changes aren't a "fix" because ultimately we can't really create value out of nothing. Bitcoin supports a million dollars+ in new value a day because investors want to buy in. The same can't be said for STEEM... yet. That's the main concern I have with too much tweaking too early on. If we try to "fix" things with adjusting this nob or pulling that lever, are we really any different than the central bankers playing with interest rates? Sometimes things need to work themselves out over time with some winners and some losers, even if that means I'm one of the losers (short term). Some things just take time.
I bought in at 10x some of the lower prices today. Some bought at much, much, higher. The discouraging thing is to think anyone could just show up today, spend much less, and have much more SP. That said, what really has given me value here is the platform and community itself. I'm even working on my first fiction post. Seriously. :) The value of this platform is the relationships and the creativity it brings. Like bitcoin, maybe it just needs a few years for enough people to realize that as well for the value of the token to catch up with it. I'm interested in long term investing here. The high interest rates (I mean in terms of the changing VEST to Steem conversion) are one of the reasons I bought it when I did, knowing they would settle down later on. At the same time, if the fundamental economics are actually flawed, then surely we have to do something. Then again, 10,000 bitcoin for a pizza sounds pretty flawed as well. It's all a matter of perspective and timescale.
I'm looking forward to whatever marketing takes place in the future. I think the social media platforms of the world will eventually have to adapt to the new paradigm Steemit is bringing to the category. Whatever the future of social media looks like, I'm quite proud of being an early adopter here on the blockchain, even if that means I lost out in the beginning. Thankfully, I never invested more than I was willing to lose.
If the price keeps going down, how do you reinvest at higher levels? That is an amazing thing.
well said!
agreed with both stella and smooth that these parameter changes do little to help increase the broader appeal of the platform. If we get some of the things built that I am trying to get done, I suspect you will see this change ^.^