There's a billboard campaign advertising steemit around the world, and this is what worries me about steemit the most now. Billboards are a good thing, possibly, to advertise a roadside bistro or insurance company. Maybe. But I would be hard pressed to remember a single billboard of an Internet success, at least before it was a success.
Did I find out about Google while driving around? No, I read about it on the Usenet (yes, there was such a thing and it was once used for actual discussion, not just distributing porn).
Did I find out about ICQ (there was such a thing once, really) in the subway? No, someone told me.
Did I find out about Facebook while en route? No, someone invited me.
And so on...
But I also remember tons of street (and TV) ads of emerging Internet sites. I don't think any one of them exists anymore. Most of them were attempts of big non-Internet companies to get their business on the net. And (perhaps with the exception of banks - which we are more or less forced to use) pretty much every one failed.
In fact, if I see a billboard advertising an Internet site (I don't watch TV anymore) I make a mental note not to go there, treating it as a sure failure. This would extend to steemit of course, had I seen its street ad before I heard about it by the word of mouth (or, more precisely, by the word of other social sites).
I'm in agreement. I appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit going into these efforts but I don't personally support them. I feel it's really not the best use of our efforts and an argument could be made that we aren't ready for that demographic of the populace yet.
If I personally was in charge of steemit's growth and marketing efforts, I'd be focused on minor growth with a focus on user retention and feedback. The time will come someday where the target should be the masses, but I don't believe that time is now.
I of course agree, but I think the issue may be deeper, that steemit marketing is not sure about their ability to ensure growth by word of mouth alone. Which may be quite bad for steemit.