Okay, so @dan and co. are building another social media platform besides Steemit, using the EOS blockchain. The prospect is already inspiring hype and hope.
Source: https://eos.io/
- The hype that EOS will be buffered against the several barriers to mainstream mass adoptionn of the block chain, which are currently delimiting steem.
Overall, that it will not have the several technical and ergonomic limitations of steem, including its application-specificity, and therefore unscalability.
EOS is prized to provide the operating system with all the core functions required by application developers to thrive.
- And the hope that it will confer the ‘fairness’, call it ‘minnow’ or late adopter vis-à-vis ‘whale’ or early adopter ‘equivalence’ that is said to be hindering steemit
Just as out of the hype, has been drawn the conclusion by quarters of the tech clout, that EOS will overtake Steem, so it is that out of the hope, has been drawn the conclusion by some quarters of the user brigade, that EOS’s social media platform will out compete Steemit.
To set the record straight, let me say beforehand, that the EOS idea is as good as it goes, and the @dan team does us another lucrative favor with another of their brainchildren, not least because competition between products can only benefit the consumer.
However, to conclude that EOS will overtake Steem, for me does not follow from objective evidence. Indeed, it is a conclusion which I find to resonate with individuals who for one-sided reasons are frustrated with steemit as a social media platform.
I am no tech savvy, and will not delve deep into tech matters, and I am conscious that the EOS idea is magnanimous and not to be trifled with. I have also taken sometime to indulge in its tech promises, and found them praise worthy, however, still I find little difference In regard to a social media platform.
However the @dan’s construct it, even they must appreciate the likelihood of at best cloning steemit in another name! With the only difference being that it will have resolved Steemits current limitations.
But lets face it: cannot the tech limitations of steemit if they exist, be corrected? Cannot the prized capabilities, including the new ones, of the awaited EOS platform be adopted by steemit in an upgrade?
At any rate, I find that some of the vilified features of Steemit actually do serve a purpose for which Steemit should not think of changing. And which if EOS whims toward, will do it a disservice.
Lets take the example of bandwidth. I am personally daily a victim of it here at steemit. But in the relay of complaint upon complaint, can we take time, sit back, and consider the other side of the bandwidth coin!
Is it really that bad that at certain times of the day some users are limited from actively using the platform? How bad is the matter? For how long are they limited? Has not such limitation any advantages to steemit? If you ask me, I think it does.
For me, bandwidth limitation is above else, an incentive for users to value quality above quantity, both In terms of time, content and investment.
Granted, Steemit is a social media platform, so you want to be able to actively interact without limitation. But what is interaction if not to read other people’s works? I have found that when I am not limited, I am almost always as a matter of rule, posting and posting, and posting….never taking time to patiently read.
But I am also not allowed to comment, you say. True, but again, not just any kind of commenting is interaction. I find that band width time of limitation serves to allow users to patiently read, without chasing to upvote first and comment first simply inorder to earn curation rewards.
I may, for poverty of language, not as well as I would have liked, clearly put in words, why I think the bandwidth limitation should be encouraged, but overall, i cannot, but conclude that bandwidth limitation is a necessary background caveat against interaction abuse in the scramble for curation rewards.
It is therefore not that bad! And we who have learned to understand the value of a true community, despite our desire to earn from it, find no problem with bandwidth issue. Let EOS come and give you the free ride to post and comment and upvote at your desired rate, and it will see the garbage and dump it will become!
At any rate, those adamant that band width is an issue, have the easier option of buying more steem power! Correcting bandwidth is just about as simple as that. And it is in part called: investment, which is a good thing for the platform. Even EOS will not be able to do away with the requirement to invest in it.
A popular example pointed out to support the claim that EOS will overtake Steemit, is that Steemit suffers a retention problem, and many users sooner become dead accounts. There are of course many reasons put forward to explain these, including the bandwidth issue, but the most burning is that, new users (minnows) lack sufficient power to influence the platform upon signing up, and that early adopters (mostly whales) have too much power, including the unfair leverage of eating the largest cut of the reward pie.
Now without meaning to disrespect these contentious opinions, I cannot, but observe that whereas it is easy to understand such sentimentality, it has to be said that it is totally unjustified. It helps that I am myself a minnow, and should share similar sentiment. But of course I don’t.
I am of the sincere opinion that Steemit’s power-share and reward influence system is as fair as any platform of its business model can be. And the disgruntlement of late adopters cannot be helped, if they are not willing to follow the same path, that is moreover guaranteed to lead them to the High table of Whales.
The question is; does Steemit give Whales, the majority who became by reason, either of early adoption or heavy steem investment, unwarranted leverage? The answer is NO.
At the risk of appearing ridiculous, the frustration by minnows is driven by the desire to share the same level of influence, lest they jump ship for another, with EOS now being the primed destination.
Overall, Steemit is unfair, and the hopefully fair EOS will overtake her, they maintain!
But what is unfair with the early bird gathering more worms than the late bird? Yes, why should not the early adopter, that risk taking tech enthusiast, who, while you prevaricated, put himself as bait, and took the opportunity and its risk then, not have the most voting power than you who only came in once the risk chance waned?
Let us face it, How fair is it to board a train late and then demand for the front seat Just as fast?
The truth is, a platform such as steemit is, and was open to everyone then. To its high table, was an open invitation. But of course there was the risk that the food probably would not be ready, may be even not palatable!
Fine, you were not aware of steemit until only recently, you may reason, but that is exactly the same reason why there is the second option, call it your short-cut to the whale High table: INVEST IN STEEM POEWER
You know, just as it was with the bitcoin when it came in 2009. There was always the risk that it would fail, you know all that ‘bubble’ talk. But enthusiasts took the risk, invested while others cautiously prevaricated, and waited for the risk odds to drop, and when finally it bitcoin hit the heights, they joined.
Was it to be expected, or worse, demanded that bitcoin early adopters should hold the same, value as late adopters? Seriously?
The EOS train and the like will no doubt hit the rails sooner or later, but in the block chain industry, they too are like the late arriving steemit minnow. Against steemit, the early adopter, and pionner, they like the steemit minnow, will lag behind.
Yes, Steemit retains above else, the early mover advantage, and it is reckless to ignore that fact. What right will EOS have to demand for the first track in the rails, against steemit the early starter?
Of course, like the steemit minnow who has the opportunity, if he/she works hard, to equalize, even overtake the whale, EOS too will have the opportunity to equalize, even overtake steemit.That is competition.
Will it come to that? Only time will tell, but by the look of things, Steemit has already travelled as far as cannot only be trailed.
Apparently disgruntled minnows plan to jump the steem ship for EODS once it is launched.
But truth to say, how is that to be avoided by anything steemit does? At any rate, those who will Join EOS under the drive of frustration will obviously be the steemit failures, call them the chaff.
And these, Steemit is better without. And one can only predict that they will not be of much value to EOS either.
Many fine people, I included have high hopes to be a part of the EOS ship, but only in as far as living another separate equally unique experience is concerned, not because i have been denied the unfair demand to share the same size of the pie with those who deserve it more, who adopted early, who invested heavily, at Steem.
Personally I do not buy into the claim that Steemit is suffering from retention problems to a tune we need to worry about.
Instead I think of it as a ‘distillation’ solution. Thus many years from today, what will remain is the deserving hard workers who appreciate the place of precedence, and take not as their right, the share of what they still haven’t worked for.
Moreover, Steemit has been reported to boast of the highest female –to-male users compared to any other blockchain.
At the risk of overstating the significance of this, it has to be noted that this is one of steemit’s highest advantages against its competition, already existent or yet to be.
Females are loyal and faithful technology adopters, unlike males. As such, the argument so currently advanced against steemit, namely, that it has a retention problem, whereas it holds water, is not to a magnitude of the kind that should cause worry, or even be taken as a fundamental advantage of by its competition.
Issues of multiple account holdership persist, but even these, should not matter. If somebody wants to slave him/herself building the reputation of multiple accounts, let him/her do it.
I doubt the same level of efficiency can and/or will be achieved by any such person. So for me it is a really small issue.
The only caveat that Steemit needs to put into practice to curb the unfairness that results from multiple account holders voting themselves and stealing from the reward pool, is to effect a mechanism where, depending on how many times you vote for a specific account, your vote value should for a given length of time, diminish.
These are my thoughts. But like I said, I am not a tech savvy, and do not really understand the mechanics of block chain technology, to a tune that would give me as much moral authority to speak of such contentions matters, still, this is Steemit, and the right to opinion is promulgated for all.
But i am adamant, yes, adamant, that:-
Beyond the Hype and the hope- EOS and the kind, will still trail steem
Share with me your thoughts.
To compare Steem to EOS is not even a comparison. Although it has not yet launched, EOS will be running dozens if not hundreds of DApps on top of it within months...social media being just one of many. EOSs vision is much grander than Steem, which is a great concept, similar to BitShares. But both have some fundamental flaws that can’t, for mainly political and vested interest reasons, be fixed on the run. Therefore on top of EOS you will see a new DEX (EOSFinex) and a newer and improved social media platform which @Dan has already hinted at....both of these are very bad for incumbents
I share your thoughts @mathewwarn. EOS is obviously coming on the back of steem, out of whose shortcoming it has obviously taken lessons and learnt from. Its capabilities, technical and utility-wise are therefore bound to be more superior.
In regard to the social media platform, however, i wonder what new experiences it will have, besides improvements visavis steemit. Hopefully it will not at best be a clone of steemit.
But at any rate, competition is healthy, and will only benefit we consumers!
Thanks for your thoughts, and support!