Is allowing trending posts about Weed genius or short sighted for Steemit?
by @kevinpham20, Twitter: @_Kevin_Pham
As many of you have probably already noticed, an article about Weed is the #2 top trending article today.
I think not downvoting this might be shortsighted, here's why:
My initial reaction was to downvote and I did. My rationale was that as a Steem Power holder, it is my responsibility to do what I can to help Steemit grow to reach a mainstream audience. Marijuana use in my opinion is still a niche and controversial topic and would inhibit mainstream adoption of the site. This is similar to what happened with Bitcoin when it was characterized by the media as a currency for drug dealers, which scared off mainstream entities such as major banks. Given Steemit is uncensorable, there is potential Steemit will become the "Silkroad of Social Media".
On the other hand, this might be a stroke of genius, here's why:
Again using the Bitcoin analogy. The use of Bitcoin for drug transactions on the dark web is what gave Bitcoin it's initial use case. This effectively allowed Bitcoin to have value and bootstrap it's way to the potential mainstream applications we see today (see Abra Global and 21, Inc). In addition, public opinion on Marijuana use is softening and is increasingly being decriminalized and legalized in many states. Assuming this trend continues, Steemit could be on the cutting edge and ride the wave of increasing acceptance of Marijuana from the mainstream. Which will allow Steemit to leapfrog incumbent social media platforms like Facebook.
That's my 2 Steems on the subject. Let me know what you think is in the best interest of Steemit in the comment section below.
Free the leaf :)
In all seriousness though, I think steemit has a great potential because of its resistance to censorship in general, so dont be a censor.
Yeah, Twitter is in the news for censoring a conservative provacateur. Smells like opportunity!
Big time agree. Pass the keep and keep on steemin it up.
Keep up the good work @kevinpham20!
I see and agree with both views. However I tend to feel that it may be a stroke of genius. I'd prefer a more in depth article about marijuana instead of just a picture, but it raises the issue to the forefront. Hopefully people can begin to have productive, conscientious, and productive dialogue on both sides of the debate where or con. Maybe steemit can be a place where people can dialogue instead of berating those who hold different views. One of the benefits steem has is that a good comment is valuable. Not just to the platform and discussion, but also monetarily. Hopefully this will keep comments respectful, but without people just praising everything to get a vote. I'll vote for someones comment that makes me think about my own stance whether or not I agree. On the other hand though I think we are going to be bombarded with posts of just weed without substance to it. Btw I like your 2 steems! Great post.
@bendjmiller22 I can see your point. Allow Steemit to be the beacon of light and reason, in which rational debate is allowed, instead of censored. My concern, is that this may inspire other people that engage in more serious illegal activities, to sign up for steemit, get a lot of voting power, and turn this into the Silk Road of Social Media.
To quote Spiderman "With great power comes great responsibility". That applies to everyone here. Yes whales have the biggest potential to change content, but if there were no dolphins or minnows, the whales would die out. I think a revamped curation reward might help staunch some of the content and active whales have done a good job promoting quality content and I believe it will continue that way, but a big flood of people wanting to make trouble for steemit have the ability to do so because of the decentralized nature, but I feel as users if we vote to hide certain content (illegal or whatever is deemed to be against the nature of the platform) less negative conotations will be made with cryptocurrency. Also while not fail proof, there are some protocols in place to prevent users creating many accounts easily and the visibility of the blockchain should help problems to be sorted out. There are always people looking to beat the system, but at least for the moment this is a pretty damn good system.
So Quick everyone should vote the way you think? Should promote censorship? because of something you believe about "mainstream adoption" ... wow... What is in the best interests of steemit is to operate the way it has said it will... without boundaries!
Personally, I'm actually a big supporter of Marijuana use. I identify as mostly libertarian and think people should be able to put whatever they want in their bodies. I was speaking about what is in the best interest of Steemit's long term growth. I'm wondering out loud if social media site about drugs and potentially other illegal activities be able to grow to as many users as possible.
While your ideology is sound, some of us live in enlightened places where weed is legal. (Colorado) Is it our worry that it is illegal wherever you are?
My real worry is this becomes a haven for content about more serious illegal activity which will turn it off to mainstream users. But I guess the platform will self regulate to find a happy medium between the two.
Don't new people have to be able to make accounts before we can worry about that?
interesting article but kevinpham20 makes a good point , what starts as an accepted platform for cannabis related topics then drives in an influx of users expecting to use the platform for drug related purposes, this then sends out a message that sets the tone for something were not, we are so much more than that and we need to be careful how the platform is moved forward in these early days of steemit. Interesting post though . upvoted
Yes, if this was a one off post, I wouldn't have been so concerned. But I saw how engaged every was in the comment section (it wasn't just normal pointless steem fishing spam). Then I scrolled down and noticed even more trending weed articles with high levels of engagement. One of the post talks about marijuana marketing being Steemit's killer app:
https://steemit.com/vape/@tessaddavis/why-i-smoke-weed-steemit-s-first-weed-post
https://steemit.com/steem/@thedashguy/how-steemit-could-transform-cannabis-marketing-and-force-others-to-play-along-instead-of-deleting-accounts
https://steemit.com/life/@thedashguy/last-few-hours-of-my-24-hour-long-legalcannabismarijuanaganja-ama-any-last-questions-folks
and judging by the 23 downvotes on the post, I'm not the only one that feels this way.
I understand why you thought it was a viable idea and that comment wasn't aimed as a personal attack on you . I just thought it needed saying because if you have had that idea then so have many others and this needs nipping in the bud before it has chance to get out of control. What seems innocent and worth a quick buck now could ultimately lead to something much more sinnister and theres alot of us on here with alot to loose should that happen. All the best tho and good luck with your future articles.