Hello Steemians, I'm Steemit's Content Director and today I'd like to talk briefly about the importance of community. I keep meaning to write more on my personal account because I know how eager you all are to gain insights into the minds of Steemit Team members, but it's tough to find the time.
Part of our team ethos is to be "Doers" not "Tawkers" (Nassim Taleb's term for people who say plenty but do nothing) and even though my job is to create the official content of Steemit Inc., writing on my personal account always feels like focusing the spotlight on myself when my job is to be pointing the spotlight on the amazing work Steemit's engineers are doing to make the Steem stack the best blockchain protocol in the world for web developers, or as we like to put it "the blockchain of opportunity."
Authenticity
In order to meet my obligations to the Steemit Team as well as Steem stakeholders (you all), I can't spend an inordinate amount of time on my personal posts and if I'm being honest, it gives me a lot of anxiety to think about what people will think if I write something stupid, boring, or containing mistakes. How would it look if Steemit's Content Director ... made crappy content?
Then I remembered a video I put out wayyyy back in the day when I was just another content creator on steemit.com. In that video I disclosed the strategy I used to achieve success on the platform--what I called "Steemit's Cycle of Success." The key takeaway was the importance of creating authentic content that added value to people's lives and then finding like-minded people to collaborate with. In short, the idea was to create an authentic community. I defined "authentic" as: honest, open, and sincere. You can watch that (now slightly embarrassing) video here:
The thing is, if you spend hours refining your content, you're not really being authentic. With these posts my hope is to get back to creating authentic content in the hopes that those reading will appreciate my intentions and if they'd rather I just shut up and focus on working behind the scenes for the benefit of Steem, they can let me know in the comments! At the end of the day, everyone at Steemit just wants to make Steem better so that it can tokenize the web. To that end we answer to the community.
Back to Community
With that, I'd like to share with you some thoughts I've been having as of late about the importance of community and how, in the end, the only way that things get better is by like-minded people coming together to solve some problem that was impossible to solve on their own. In other words, in order to solve any problem, a community must be formed.
Innovation and Complexity
As many of you may know, explaining Steem to people is complicated. That's the paradox of truly innovative technologies; they require a radical reframing of how you look at a problem. This necessarily makes it difficult for people who are used to thinking about something the old way to comprehend the new path you are trying to set forth.
While there are many parts of the Steem ecosystem that can be simplified, some of the complexity is absolutely necessary. Even things as simple as Steem Power and token inflation are extremely difficult for ordinary people to understand, but completely vital to the sustainability and scalability of the stack.
The Job to be Done
Lately I've been contemplating whether this focus on the technical aspects of the technology is, in some ways, self defeating. In marketing there is a concept called the "job to be done." The idea is not to explain how your product works to your potential customer, but instead focus on why it will enable them to "get their job done."
While Steem can certainly help all kinds of people get all kinds of jobs done, as I stated before, the one thing that all solutions have in common is that they require a community. In other words, the one job everyone needs to get done, is building their community. In truth, this shouldn't be a surprise as my boss, @Ned, has been telling me this since I started! So Steem is really a communities technology. I recently spoke with the @steemmonsters team and they really drove this point home. @yabapmatt pointed out that, technically SteemMonsters could have been built on Bitcoin.
Obviously it would have been far too slow and far too expensive to really be successful, but it was technically possible. While there were numerous technical aspects of Steem which made it especially well suited for SteemMonsters, the conversation kept going back to the amazing community of Steemians they were able to tap into, not just as instant customers, but as storytellers, evangelists, and more. We're still putting the finishing touches on that interview, but it should be out soon.
While there's still a lot we can--and will--do to make Steem even better, it remains years ahead of the competition in its true value proposition: community building technology. You all are the most powerful demonstration of Steem's true unique value proposition and the fact that you are still here posting, commenting, curating, and even criticizing, is proof of that fact.
Hivemind
All of this makes me believe that @roadscape's Hivemind project will be more disruptive than people realize, even if they already thought it was going to be highly disruptive! It's not because it will enable communities on steemit.com, it's because it will multiply Steem's capabilities as a sustainable, scalable, open source, community-building technology. Even a Smart Media Token will only be as valuable as the community that is leveraging it.
That's about all I have to say about communities, time to get back to work! If you haven't already, be sure to follow @steemitblog to stay up-to-date on everything the Steemit Team is working on.
Steem on!
Honestly, I'm really excited for hivemind. Communities will be gamechanging.
And regarding SteemMonsters:
I think what makes the combination of aggroed and yabapmatt special, is that aggroed is so incredibly good at creating and leading communities, while yabapmatt is a really good dev.
Thanks @therealwolf! And I really appreciate your help with the migration to dsteem!
Sure thing!
This is absolutely true looking at all angles. I've known aggroed for more than a year now and PAL (Peace Abundance and Liberty) has been a place of growth for me. I remembered I was even sent 3SBD from @aggroed being the most enthusiastic newbie in PAL.
@yabapmatt - I call him not only a Dev but a good dev. Community Builder + Good developer = Fantastic results.
100%
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I've been preaching for lack of a better term that the reason why Steem cannot be put aside, is due to the community that it has.
Granted, there are hundreds of issues, conflicts, disagreements, you name it. But in all, there are thousands of us who have grown attached to the possibilities of this blockchain and have learn to recognize the value in each other, if even for a second.
The network effect we keep on talking about, is built upon the organic growth of communities, it's built by people, not just algorithms and code. However, code can be a crucial aid to the process facilitating and reinforcing the communitary social tendencies.
The cold hard truth, at least the moment is that yes content is important but....
People + Communities > Content
We could have the best content creators, we could have the funniest videos, the best philosophical, political rants and it would not mean a damn thing without an audience to share it with.
I for one can't wait for Hiveminds to come out. I think the inevitable petri dishes that will sprout are going to be crucial to the social structures to arise in the future.
All this to say... I'm pumped!
"Steemit's Content Director", huh? Does it mean you're responsible for the abhorrently low quality of the aforementioned content? No? What kind of director are you then?
And regarding hivemind, communities and SMTs... where are they!? So much talking about it and NO real results whatsoever. This place looks shittier by the day and I already consider my investment here to be one of the worst mistakes I ever made. It never stops to disappoint, really. The site is pathetic and the dev team is, too.
I note you express your 'investment' strategy with a generous selfvote.
This is telling. Investors seek to increase the value of the underlying vehicle they invest in. Profiteers seek to extract maximum ROI.
You're not an investor. You're a profiteer, and the sooner you and your ilk give up on Steemit the better off the platform - and the community - will be.
Go away. You can go away mad, as long as you, and all the profiteers, go away.
Let me help you decide this isn't the place for you with a little encouragement.
I don't disagree with this statement ;)
Got nothing to say to me directly, pal? Can't blame you, there seem to be no valid arguments against my statements. You know, the criticism is good as long as it doesn't fall on deaf ears. Which is the case right now, I believe. I don't care if you're an orca or whatever. If you'd prefer me to kiss your ass like the majority of the users here do to each other, you've got another thing coming.
Generous selfvote of a quarter of a dollar? The fuck you talking about? I lost more than 10000$ here already. I upvote what I want and I also downvote what I want. This place is full of shit and without selfvoting you won't be even able to disagree with me because you wouldn't even read this.
And if you imply I have nothing to add to the so-called 'value' (that solely depends on BTC price and the whale-selling rate), I suggest you proceed to my profile and take a look around. I've been upvoted by @curie more than 5 times already, not to mention many other top lists and projects. If this not a valuable input, kindly explain to me, WHAT IS?
Value is not measured in money alone. I do not seek money. The value I seek here on Steemit is far more rare and to be treasured: forthright commentary (which I grant you are providing, and why I do not downvote again).
While you may find it not credible, it is only the combination of your selfvote and scathing ad hominem attack I found worthy of my encouragement. While I'd prefer you to address the issues (which you have expanded on here a little) with less ad homina and more specific criticism and detail, I do not find your views unwelcome.
Without constructive criticism we cannot improve. I depend on it utterly. That is valuable input in this matter, IMHO. Far more valuable to me, and hopefully @andrarchy and STINC, than mere lucre. @andrarchy indicates this is so for him by declining payout.
Instead of deriding, proclaim potential improvements, or at least specifically address the problems that have caused you such ire in detail. I know @andrarchy does want to make Steem a good investment, because I have butted heads with him in the past, and I think we both gained from our considerations of each the others points.
That is a benefit people can only gain from forthright - but constructive - criticism. I am confident you can provide it. Please do!
I might appear to be rash and overly aggressive but there is no better way to provoke an actual response instead of the same copypasted bullshit that constitutes 95% of comments here. Yes, I do criticize STINC and @andrarchy personally for the lack of actual progress and too much pathos. Look at this:
https://steemit.com/steem/@steemitblog/update-communities-hivemind
4 months ago he told us that they "will soon introduce next-generation APIs and Communities for Steem". Somehow I never noticed that happening. No Hivemind, no Communities, no SMTs, nothing!
What I did notice is that my stake is turning into dust while devs won't even scratch their asses. Look at @andrarchy, he won't even answer my comments because he's got nothing to counter my arguments with.
As a stakeholder, I have all rights to criticise that and be upset. I would go away as soon as I understood how shitty things really are, how rigged the system really is if I could only do it quicker than in 13 weeks. Now it's a disaster either way as my money is trapped here and so am I.
The idea that seemed to have so much potential now goes down the drain as whales and scammers ruin the place pushing the price down, the sheer incompetence of dev team is astonishing as well. Look at steemit, it's like a dinosaur from 90s, after years of so-called development.
A pathetic excuse for a "new-generation social network", don't you agree?
Don't worry about that man, your content is solid and if you make a mistake so what...we are all human. I like to read the content of the people involved in the blockchain that changed my life. Even if it's just a photo with some lines of text.
Can't wait to see how disruptive Hivemind will be.
Thanks for all the work you and the team are doing.
Yup. Authenticity is a simple ingredient that will lead to the elusive network effect.
I am hoping that Hivemind fosters lots and lots of innovation. Yeah, there might be some “Balkanization” and “gated communities”, but I’m guessing that the good will outweigh the bad.
I look forward to SMT’s but am in no rush. Much better to have them rolled out rock solid than rushed and flawed. Done right, they could be a game changer with massive potential.
I believe that blockchain will have a fundamental impact on the individual and on how a collection of individuals can rapidly become part of a community with a whole different take on the way the world operates. You can see it happening now in the way people join ICOs, sharing the experience and hooking into that community with a real commercial stake.
Posted using Partiko Android
Yes! Check out the community I'm building through haikus.
Will you also give us a smile? We're trying to get as many smiles as we can -- here's the relevant post:
https://steemit.com/life/@vdux/how-much-is-a-smile-worth
As well - given we're blazing ahead in completely new territory - just as equally-critical may be not just explaining why it'll work to get jobs done that are already defined, but painting picture for what possibilities could be created that might not even be on people's radars yet...
@andrarchy have you seen my email sent to you the 29 of june?
There is no such thing as SMT, man. Probably won't ever be.
Why do you think so?
nice explanation and great points : 0
Yes!!! I miss your whiteboard content from the old days !! :)
Steem/Steemit is a great combination of technology and community. When I went to the London Crypto Show where lots of companies were showing off their technology, but only Steemit could bring 50 real users together there to support them. It is important to users to understand the basics of this platform so that they do not risk the security of their accounts and so they make the most of it, but it has massive potential to change lives and build communities around content. I think we are just at the start of this and I hope to see it become massive in a year or two.
This was all very interesting! I’m a new community member, and I think Steemit stands poised to grow by leaps and bounds.
Well, like you, I see communities - and not only the technological advance - as a key to success for steem(it). So when will steemit.inc start to delegate SP to community building projects like it is delegating to dapps?
I could not agree more about communities. I have gone so far as to consider SMTs, Oracles, and Communities one integral thing, which I now refer to as SOC. Concatenation of multiple affects can produce entirely novel effects, and both Steem and SOC do this.
Thanks!
I very worried about this hivemind idea. We are already very unwelcoming to noobs. Once everyone scurries off into their hives, who will be looking at posts we get from from fresh minnows? No one. This is one on the things that killed tsu. One day we had people out in the lobby, then communities came and the place died in a week. The majority of my friends went to photo groups and my weight loss work stopped getting views.
tsu had millions of active members we have less than 10K. If we get 50 communities going, they will average 200 members. Do this is not enough upvotes to sustain them either. I would love to know your thoughts on this aspect of the idea.
for Steemit.com communities are the missing link and I for one can not wait for hivemind. Well done on all the work by the steemit team. So what if it is slow, rather slow and right than fast and wrong.
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