I don't think it's about getting rich. It's about understanding what is initially sparking people's interest to join Steemit. Consider the alternative social network options first where all of your friends are, where features are fully fleshed out TODAY. Something has to provide an incentive to join Steemit and it can't just be that it's a new social network.
Feature wise, today, Steemit is similar to what Live Journal was back in the early 2000's. And that's absolutely cool. But, as such, it is competing in a space with options that are more complete, where friends and families are already entrenched.
To start the process of building a new network on a new platform has to come with an incentive because we've seen way too many platforms come up in the past ten years trying to compete without a true value proposition. Being just another "me-too" service they just couldn't get that network effect to work for them and died out. There has to be something unique to catch one's attention to dive in.
With Steemit, I don't know about you, but I was compelled by the idea that it's not ad driven and authors and curators are compensated for the effort they put in. Of course content is great, but to discover that required me to initially have some reason to go through the exploration process.
Now once a user joins and begins exploring they may begin to see that the community is what is keeping them there, which is the case for me, because the content is incredibly unique and rich, with an active and supportive group of people.
Once Steemit reaches a critical mass and the features on the service grow to match other competing platforms perhaps it won't matter as much, and the draw will just be it's such a great place to be.
But to ask a friend or relative to join today, there has to be something compelling or I'll just get the standard response of "Another social network? No thanks." Maybe that's ok for some people on Steemit, but it's not going to help us grow it further.
I'd love to know what you think about how to grow the service and convince others to join so that the user base explodes and we can reach the masses.
Well the big draw for me and a lot of the people I onboarded initially was the lack of censorship. Unlike Facebook and other places where content could be deleted wholesale, the blockchain is forever. Sure, downvotes can take away rewards and reduce visibility, but it's all there. Always will be. Unfortunately, the level of downvoting by certain parties along political lines drove most of those folks away.
Integrating a messenger function into the UI, rather than redirecting to chat via the drop-down menu, would be a tremendous boon. I've been talking about it for almost a year now, and it still doesn't seem to be a point of concern. That, on its own, would go a very long way to making Steemit more usable. Marketplace-wise, I don't think there's much the devs can do. We have a very active app community here bootstrapping Steem; that will come with wider adoption.
The point I was making about "getting rich" was it was the same tidal wave of interest that sparked the first wave of widespread adoption in 2016 that we witnessed this year. I haven't looked at it, but I'm certain as the price of Steem stabilizes, and voting patterns normalize again after HF19, we'll see a large number of inactive accounts again. Likely not as bad as before, but I'm expecting that. It's an effect of the "get rich quick" mindset that a fair number of people joining here have.
Great points. Makes sense regarding censorship. And that is quite a refreshing take to be certain. In the work I do we're always having to be cautious on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook in particular due to increasingly strict guidelines. As a result it takes some of the authenticity out of what we do. And I do hate that. You have me thinking there.
As for messenger functionality. YES!!! Using Steemit.chat right now but man... it's just not the same as staying on this platform. I'd love to see something like that. And I think that's the point is to make Steemit easier to use and for it to contain features that have become standard practice. It will happen overtime, I'm confident about that. But, since it is being bootsrapped, as you pointed out, the process can be a little more drawn out. And perhaps that's actually a good thing so the kinks can be ironed out first.
As for the "get rich" aspect you've been here far far longer than I have so this is a good history lesson. A spur of new active users which drop off rather quickly. I'm guessing the latest movement may have come with the rise in the value of STEEM from mere cents to dollars within a couple months. Let's see where it goes, BUT the core reason why I'm so positive about Steemit and STEEM is there is an actual community here using a functional product that works.
As someone who is a fan of the entire crypto space, this is proof that blockchain technology and decenrtalized services make sense and can thrive. Just so fascinating on that front.
Anyway I won't go off on a tangent anymore here. Thank you so much for your thoughts on the matter. Really helped me to see another angle to what is bringing people into the community. :)
Oh without a doubt. That's the whole reason I'm still here. I believed in Steemit when I first came here, and I still believe in it now. You're absolutely right: it's a proof of concept that blockchains aren't just ledgers for numbers. They can be so much more, and the community that has taken root and continued to steadily grow is nothing short of fantastic. Take a look around at any of the creative spaces and you'll find dozens of niches each with their own established cast of characters. Be it @winstonwolfe in photography, @alexbeyman in science and scifi, or @jedau in literature, there's something for everyone here, and there is so much room to grow and so much help for people coming in.
I love it. I wish I had a way to really sell that sense of community, but I'm sure we'll all figure something out. In the meantime, we need a in-platform messenger lol
I can feel your passion through your writing. And I think that's a big part why I've actually decided to devote time Steemit. I usually care less about social media unless it has something to do with my businesses. But, here, it's entirely about being a part of a growth story and enjoying a very forward thinking community.
Thanks for pointing out these accounts. I'll be checking them out. Wish there was an easier form of discovery instead of just the "Trending" and "Hot". Specifically wish Search worked far better to find relevant content and profiles. But this is all part of the progress the platform will make.
And yes... let's get that messenger! :)
When my upvote is worth $0.00, it's a huge disincentive for me to upvote. Why bother?
Your upvote is a reflection of your accumulated Steem Power and your reputation score. I'd argue that with your upvote being negligible right now, you have a greater incentive to upvote because you don't have to worry about parsing your voting power. Upvotes increase visibility of posts, even if your individual vote doesn't increase the payout. It's a disincentive to creating a spam bots that hold the same voting power as content creators and curators, who actually earn a stake in the platform and thus a greater impact when voting.
Give it time. You'll get there :)
Excuse me if it's a noob question, but you said "Upvotes increase the visibility of posts."
This snapshot of trending proves it's not strictly payout that orders the list. Neither is it upvotes. Perhaps a combination of the two? Could someone tell me what the actual formula is that determines what stays on the top of 'Trending'?
Trending posts are the ones that have consistently the most user engagement (upvotes and comments). Naturally, more upvotes will increase the payout (as well as the likelihood of a large payout), so it tends to go hand in hand with a large payout. If you noticed, the number of replies for each topic is extremely high. It's a combination of factors. I did a quick search and didn't find any satisfactory articles that covered the specific algorithm that determines it, but you could try the help desk on Steemit.chat and see if you can get some answers there. I honestly don't know, otherwise I'd just tell you lol
Hey, thanks for trying. If I find it I'll post back here to let you know.
Thanks for the reply.
I upvoted your reply....no penny for you! :)
The upvote is worth it for me, even if it doesn't net any monetary rewards. Thanks for yours! :D
Look Close at this comment folks! This guy represents 230,954 people on the last stats I saw! Pay attention!!!