An open SMT payout future and cross-pollination

in #steem6 years ago

I write lots of different content but, in general, stay away from time attached material unless it is Steem related. There are several reasons for this with the main one being I don't care about the news but, a secondary one being, I want it to be timeless, to be able to be read at any point and still have a high probability of relevance.

Why, well, I always envisaged that one day, the content I create could be valuable beyond a week and perhaps, generate residuals. This is not possible with the current 7 day payout (it was 30 when I started here) but, as far as I know, should be possible with SMTs.

Before we get into that though, let's think about a platform like Youtube in comparison to @Dtube. When it comes to potential advertising material the 7 day payout window is very short (let's pretend discovery is easier too) and when it comes to potential residual earnings, it is untenable. One week isn't long enough for a professional to get the earnings necessary.

For example, there is currently ~300 hours of video uploaded to Youtube every minute. Yes, minute. How much of it do you think really gets seen? Probably not much but, let's say that you are looking for a DIY tutorial, how often is the video you found produced in the last week?

Limited time, limited potential

 
You tube has a massive catalogue of content but once you filter out the movie trailers, music videos and short lived content, the things that get views and create long-term ad revenue streams are the videos that are informative and aren't tied to a position in time. And cat videos. So, pretty much whatever you want to find a video on, Youtube has it.

If one of the massive Youtubers came onto Steem, even if they were getting 1000 dollar posts consistently, it would not be enough to outperform Youtube. Of course, for the mid-level Youtubers, it would definitely outperform them at that rate. And for people like Jerry.. who cares. They need the residual earnings, the views that will keep adding revenue weeks, months and years later.

So, this is where an SMT could close the gaps or, in this case, widen them to allow posts to remain open indefinitely.

At this point I am going to give the audience a caveat:

I have no idea how SMTs will work in practice

 
An SMT could essentially have an indefinite payout period and still run under Steem as far as I know. How I envisage this working is that the SMT layer above the Steem blockchain can interact with the chain according to Steem rules but, issue its own token however it wants to do so. This means that they could potenntially set up a daily, weekly, or monthly payout point or, mix and match, for example, pay the first 4 payments weekly and then monthly after that depending on the view rate.

This would mean that old content that lay on a shelf could be unearthed years later and suddenly find that it is again relevant and attracting large numbers of views. Even an article that happened to touch upon something that ended up being prophetic could suddenly be the attractor of a huge amount of interest. This would mean that an account could keep earning across time indefinitely depending on relevance or marketing.

Distribute those tokens

 
SMTs will have another unique feature that supports this because it is possible to vote on a post with more than one coin. So, A vote on a Steem post could also be voted on simultaneously with an SMT token. What this means (in my head) is that even though a post could be closed for voting on the Steem blockchain, it may be possible for an SMT to reopen it in the eyes of their own token and with an independent interface, have a whole new voting schedule and independent payout rules on it.

Essentially, it could be possible that one day, an SMT trawls Steem for relevant articles to unearth, sells them on their own platform and pays through its own coin or beneficiaries to the attached Steem account, even if the author hasn't signed up with that particular token. Perhaps there will be checkbox somewhere asking for permission to licence it for royalties.

There are many ways I see that this could be of huge benefit for revenue streams of authors here as it could potentially feed content aggregators and offer authors reward through syndication without having to ever really approve much or worry about theft of work as everything will be trackable back to the original.

There would be some authors/producers that would see their earnings increase incredibly over time as their content would be continually pushed up the most viewed ranks or, popular on certain tags etc.

Import content and users

 
Doing it this way (once set up) would also potentially allow new SMTs to select some core content to begin with for their database that would give them quality and depth without a large user base. It could also attract cross-platform SMT polination where users are able to interact more effectively without having to start from scratch on each platform also. Perhaps there would be a way to select and port some Steem content across.

Going back to Youtube's 300 hours a minute of video being uploaded, most of that will never see a human pair of eyes but, there it is. Most of it will be filtered out or be so lowly ranked, it is unlikely to even garner a few views. I can't find recent statistics but in 2014 (an eternity ago), more than 1/3 of Youtube videos had less than 10 views. Since then, the bots have taken over there too but, the algorithms filter most of them out. The real number of watched videos would be much, much lower with those monetized being just a tiny fraction of the total number.

Due to the versatility of SMTs being able to divide their pool however they choose, the range of options available is incredibly large with most not having been though about much at all yet. SMTs, would could massively simplify the monetization of per-view sites as well as be able to potentially both protect providers from theft and, open them up to revenue streams that were previously unknown.

A little in the wallet

 
Let's say that there is an SMT wallet view that is able to track the payments on content no matter the SMT nor where it is used. Potentially, something like every video embed or Facebook share could bring some SMT earnings that would show up in the wallet. What would be cool is if then there is a feature that says, Convert to Steem and it will automatically buy the equivalent in Steem, if one so wants.

Again, I have no idea if any of this is possible through the technology but, I am pretty sure that there is a lot of freedom that can be found through SMTs that create new potential revenue streams and increase engagement and user experience in many areas, not just on Steem.

I wish I had some developer skills or, my wallet was large enough to pay for some because the SMT future has the potential to be huge if people get creative and connect the technology with the various communities who demand all types of content. They better do a good job on the infrastructure they are working on now because if SMTs deliver, the potential traffic is going to be enormous.

It is very easy to get caught up in the day to day shenanigans that is current Steem yet, it is a good idea to sometimes imagine what Steem could be. Not just in price but in the development, the potential platforms and how it could solve various issues we face. At least, it is fun to think about, possible or not and could give some ideas to various developers that can use it as a base to create something killer.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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This was originally a big thing for me when I understood I could get payouts for a very limited time. I do understand that new posts kind of deserve the rewards, but still I find myself going through old content and finding a lot of useful and awesome stuff from there.

Should I upvote an authors new post because I thought his old post was awesome and I want to reward it?

Should I ask him to leave a comment, so I can upvote the comment on the old post so he can get a payout for it?

That could actually become a big thing too if someone creates a bot which comments every week to all old posts "Upvotes for week 25 in 2018" and he can get continuous support from people reading the old posts (if it ever happens).

But let's hope SMTs will fix this issue (or "issue") depending on your own viewpoint.

Video display time on the dtube becomes an issue the video creator is reluctant to join. Compared to Youtube, there does not have to be like to install ads and monetization, but it's enough with eye icons, how many times a video has been watched and Youtube calculates it for advertising and pays the owner of the video. That's why a lot of tutorial videos and useful there and we can watch whenever and the video maker gets paid for the hard work.

I once invited directors and local movie producers, but they know how to work Dtube and they are reluctant to join Steemit and Dtube, they are more at Youtube because not only Youtube members are counted as spectators, who do not have Youtube account also counted. Very different from Dtube, and the certainty to get a clear fee is definitely more on Youtube especially if a video becomes viral, the pay is many fold. In Steemit and Dtube there is no clear guarantee for them.

I agree that the 7 day payout period puts a lot of stress on SteemIt. Since the early beginning of the platform, thousands of extremely valuable articles have been written. After those 7 days, they simply disappear in the dungeons of SteemIt, together with all the crap.
It’s a shame the authors of those articles lose the ability to be rewarded for their efforts and quality content.
I don’t know enough about the possibilities of SMTs, but if it would be possible to somehow change this, I think it would make SteemIt more attractive to people who post quality content.
But hey... what do I know?? ;0)

Yep. it would also mean that decent guides could be written and turned to again and again without having new ones written by the same people every 7 days ;)

Did you just say the layout window was up to 30 days when you fiest got on steemit? Hows that gonna even work out? I make a post and wait 30 days for it to payout? Wow thats funny.

But on a second thought, when a post pays out after seven days, it doesnt go out of relevance. Its not like the post no longer open, as a matter of fact, you can still view posts that are months old on steemit, so why would tge 7 days payout window be a hindrance in anyway.

Speaking about smts, i have beeb trying to wrap my head around them for a while now but seem not to understand what they are really all about. But i know tgmhat once they come into existence, everything will be clear to me.

Hows that gonna even work out? I make a post and wait 30 days for it to payout? Wow thats funny.

Lol, really? in much of the world salaries are paid monthly and when it comes to businesses 90 day payment is normal also. Project work can mean that all the work is done and no money is seen for 1-2 years. people are impatient which is why so few learn the system before cashing it out.

Speaking about smts, i have beeb trying to wrap my head around them for a while now but seem not to understand what they are really all about. But i know tgmhat once they come into existence, everything will be clear to me.

No one knows what they are.

Time issues is a definitely a problem when seen through a logical perspective.

To me the decision seems a little bit odd. In fact it actually seems to be at odds with the immutability of the block chain. We already know that content is going to be there for the digital eternity so why limit it's earning even before the the potential earnings have even reached their peak.

I don't know enough about it but when it was 30 days, it didn't really change much since there was most activity in the first few hours, maybe a day or two later. There used to also be a flexible payout period where additional votes would extend the payout a little. Seems so long ago...

But if someone enjoys your old posts they will usually vote on the new stuff. And if we have lots of material we can create a book from it. Take all the articles. Polish it up a bit. And bam a book is there. Lifetime earnings.

Man I think the bots would catch up to us for spamming if we repost - even our own material. Flags, even from bots are a pretty good deterrent.

No. You can just have a website.

publishers aren't too keen on publishing books that have already been put out there. there is room for some of it but, not too much room.

We live in the age of remix. We only have to put some personal touch and add some extra value and a book is there ;) We are the publisher since we can release a digital copy!

Be careful of this. Kindle and the other book stores will ban you if they find you are charging their customers for writing you give away free elsewhere. When I was still publishing new material I think the rule was 10% could be elsewhere for free.

What are you talking about? You went completely off topic

I was referring to your suggestion to take our posts and self publish them. Not sure why it seemed off topic, but hope that shed some more clarity.

Damn what a post! It's like you have the same thoughts as I have.
I thought already a lot about that and I am sure that an SMT could deliver a solution.

The short payout time frame makes it really hard. For that reason, I stopped making Dtube videos because the effort I put in my videos for that short time frame was not worth it.

I am making my thoughts to hire maybe some developers.

I am making my thoughts to hire maybe some developers.

One day, I will be able to...

If you would be able to do it now you would do it immediately?

How I wish @ned and his team read this post before proceeding with smt.

I don't really know the plan smt would be unfolding, but it would seem so good if the can follow your suggestions in this post.

Especially, the old post still getting relevance and rewarded...smile

Thanks

An interesting take on the possibilities of SMT's. Being ignorant as I am regarding crypto, I really wasn't connecting the dots till recently on the impact they would have on the value of Steem potentially.

One thing I am concerned about regarding the communities that may develop their own tokens is how much they will demand a tie to Steem. I refuse to give my password keys to third parties already (steemconnect, etc) and there is no way I am giving them to one or more parties using their own tokens.

I don't know how that will all work with sign -ins etc but, the SMTs can be very independent from steem itself from my understanding.

Hi Taraz. I don't know. Most posts probably are hot for attracting votes for the first 3 days and after that very few people go looking for older stuff. It would be great if it was a possibility to resurrect old posts if they were relevant to something in the future.

It would be great if it was a possibility to resurrect old posts if they were relevant to something in the future.

But, that is also partly due to the features of the platform. Why produce high quality content if it will only be seen and earn for a few days? When it comes to DIY/educational stuff, there is a much longer market window available.

Yes, plus courses could play a part (but for the 7 days). Imagine a (decentralised) udemy or coursera or skillshare dapp. It could work but for the 7 days unless a SMT could step in as you suggest.

i think education is going to benefit a lot from blockchain and it would be great if Steem would lead the way since it already has an open community

I think this is valid. The time frame is short. Authors should be able to earn from posts older than 6days. This would be great for new users who are in the progress of building their reputation and gathering an audience.
I know little about SMT, might as well search for articles about it.