The Responsibility for the Success of the Steemit Platform Partly Relies on Us as Users.
Today the Hardfork of the Steem blockchain is occurring. Many folks are super excited about the changes to the economy. I always like to be the one that likes to remind people that a platform is nothing unless the user base builds a solid community.
When the platform launched the high payouts attracted many folks who were only here for the large payouts. We saw what happened to them when the payouts decreased. They are no longer here and are no longer participating. There were a few thousand of us who stuck around and decided that what Steemit was doing was revolutionary. We are part of something that disrupts the status quo and it feels great.
Currently we are seeing the quality of posts rising. People are building relationships. We are slowly getting updates that help us build stronger bonds with other users. This will all help us make Steemit an amazing social media platform.
When I see people talking about Steemit in the crypto community the common theme is that we failed because the price of Steem fell off a cliff. They are right that the price of the underlying currency of Steemit has had some issues. When people tell me that I am crazy to be involved in the project I like to remind people that, "Steemit has introduced more people to the world of Crypto Currencies in the last year than all the others combined." The only one that could rival Steem would be the DAO and we know what happened there.
The DAO Meme of the Year.
The Steemit Community Needs a Strong Foundation.
I will be the first to say that the first few months could have been handled better but the past is the past. Since late August we all have been building something that has grown in strength and I believe we are ready for the next influx of new users. If the price rises considerably due to the hard fork be prepared for the tsunami of new users. If the price drops as some folks suggest then also be prepared to carry out business as usual. I know most of you who read my posts are here for the long haul.
The wisest thing the community did was have SteemFest. This three day event set the tone of cooperation, optimism and a feeling that we are part of something that could change the world. If You want a good idea of what happened at SteemFest go to this amazing website built about the event, SteemFest Recap. People love to feel that they are part of something bigger than themselves. I know @AnaHilarski and I were blown away by the power of the event.
The ones who are here for the community are the ones who will build a strong foundation for the Steemit platform. Over the next few months we may here a ton about the Steem price. This is all just noise, keep Steeming! We will be rewarded greatly if this platform grows like I think it will.
The Steemit Logo Image was by @Carlos-Cabeza
"The ones who are here for the community are the ones who will build a strong foundation for the Steemit platform..." So true
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Thank you for such being you @hilarski!! You always have such a positive spin on things--it simply oozes out of you. So grateful to have met you and Ana at Steemfest. I agree that was one brilliant move and really helped to connect and solidify this community. Here we are, rain or shine. We might as well shine! Thanks for the post--glad to see your smiling face this morning.
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It is an awesome feeling to see what is happening and knowing that we were part of it from the beginning. We all are the cornerstones. You guys are awesome, we can't wait to meet you at the next event! Big Hug!!
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You guys are awesome too. Such a great connection. Perhaps we will have to create an event just for an excuse to get together. Big hug received and returned to you @hilarski!
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So much this:
The ones who are here for the community are the ones who will build a strong foundation for the Steemit platform.
Every week I get to know more people on Steemit. I think it is an amazing place with one of the most positive mindsets on the internet right now. I would love it to succeed.
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You are one of the people that are making this community awesome!! We are thrilled that we got to spend time with you at SteemFest!!
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The Feeling is mutual! It was great meeting you two as well! Thank you for the picture!
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Totally agree. I think one of the nuances is that the term "social media" applies, largely, to already existing websites, therefore deemed most credible, or the winners and therefore why do we need another? Most people know what Facebook is whether they use it or not. Most people are slammed in the face with how much they hear the word "tweet". We have in the USA a President-Elect that has tweeted to death so much that Twitter is now a platform that you use to vote for your favorite dancer on network TV and who you are voting for as President. Unfortunately you seldom are allowed to participate in an online comment section without being also a user/member of one of three/four of these websites. STEEMIT is different, inherently, as it is linked to a blockchain, encrypted and functions not only as a means to post comments or vote but also as a way to transfer funds and earn money for your intellectual properties, that is, your posts. I think long term those who value privacy will come to this platform, however I enter a caveat; most Americans don't truly see what their privacy being violated by the government means and so they willingly give it up with a "I have nothing to hide" mindset. Perhaps we need to explain better why encryption and decentralization is so important in the modern day where privacy has vanished, online personas define us and a Federal Reserve banking system makes money from nothing. But I just wanted to say that we need to keep going with this. We are the only ones who can keep STEEMIT alive and therefore if we respect the work that we put our time into than we bear the burden of getting over the humps that will inevitably come. One last point. I think what makes STEEMIT great is also what makes it weak at times. Cryptocurrency miners jumped in for the free coins, dumped them and thus, devaluation. For those people typing in a long key wasn't a big deal to get $5-$7. My Mom will never type in an encryption key. Most people won't because they don't even know what it is or why it is. So we have to perhaps help out IRL. Help them by typing it in for them at Christmas and saving it in their iPhone browser/app. It is a small but enormous barrier. That's all I got right now. STEEMON!
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The Steemit threshold for difficulty is so low that I think it will be the gateway to Crypto. We are so excited to be part of it. My Mom is learning to speak Crypto. Love iT!!
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Great article! It always feels good to believe in the strength of this community.
You got my view, full read, vote and follow :-)
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The volatile ups and downs of new currencies attract a crowd hungry for easy money, but I think that the possibility to build a platform that gets people closer to each other, and artist, like me, closer to their audience, are the real interesting thing with Steemit. Trade of entertainment, art, news and education is the real value here, so I here to see what will happen. I think that the working social part of the network will prove a stronger glue than many other crypto-projects have.
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That is what I am hoping for. The strength of the community can provide a floor to the price of the underlying currency. I know there are many people like me who will not sell my Steem because we know we are just beginning this journey.
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That is very good news from a trader's perspective. Turnarounds begin in an environment of skepticism and apathy. So long as value has increased under-the-hood during the decline-in-price, as has been the case with Steemit, that skepticism means STEEM has a long way to climb.
Thanks for the heads-up.
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I am optimistic by nature and believe we are heading in the right direction.
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So do I.
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Great points made
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You got that right! I'm so grateful to be part of this visionary endeavor, to be introduced to crypto, and to be building an intelligent, strong, capable community here on Steemit.
Thanks for all you do to make this a great success! You and Ana are warm, inviting, genuine, and supportive - truly great ambassadors for this community!
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Sara it is people like you that help make us feel welcome. Now just multiply that by a few hundred and that is why we are not going anywhere.
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Join me on Twitter @RandyHilarski
https://twitter.com/RandyHilarski/status/806161231723827200
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Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
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Good post. It's really been cool to see how you've been able to get involved here.
Roland really gets the atta boy for his work. Steemfest certainly brought a spark of life for regulars here.
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He did such an amazing job. SteemFest was the right event at the right time.
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In the ideal world, we would have a SteemFest every 3 months :-)
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It will come in time. I would love to host one here in Panama in 2018.
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I responded to with this statement to one of your posts before, but it always bares repeating again and again. Yes, Steemit can be a gateway for newbs into the crypto world. I am one of those people. =) However, I do want to add this. I stuck around not because of crypto politics. (I'm a liberal democrat). I stuck around because I have been in the freelance writing world for a long time and I have seen the rise and fall of content mills from Demand Studios, Associated Content, and this place strikes me as one of the most friendly to content creators who want to follow their own interest and not write SEO littered bullcrap that Google with just find another algorithm to eventually weed out. So, your points are well taken and much agreed with.
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When the world of writers find Steemit it will change blogging forever. Personally I am just a blogger that writes about what I care about. Imagine if professional writers used this as their blog alongside their day jobs. The platform will grow immensely. I think we noticed more of the politics because of the recent election. That will die down now but one thing is for is for sure my ANCAP community is very vocal and they love the minimal censorship here.
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If I am going to be honest, politics is one thing I tread very, very carefully on Steemit. I used to be an anarchist, but not today's variety, which seems absolutely alien to me. I used to be an anarcho syndicalist -- as espoused by writers like George Orwell, Rudolf Rocker, Mikhail Bakunin, and so on. The type that said trade unions had value, as did a sort of localism that valued all members of a neighborhood irregardless of race, gender, or religion. The last election did nothing but radicalize me against a type of fascism that seeks to belittle people and scream "political correctness" at people who have an opposing point of view. "Liberal" is not a badge of shame. And my tolerance of conspiracy theories based only on innuendo has gone to zero.
For some people here, this is the challenge of this platform. How to be a productive member of this community while leaving politics at the door -- especially when part of that community has no problem calling people like me a "libtard." The "tag" nature of steemit actually makes this easier. Pizzagate bullshit, for example, doesn't end up in my feed, as Steemit is easy to compartmentalize. And maybe that is the saddest thing. Part of being "PC" was trying very damned hard to be accepting of opposing points of views -- the willingness to have a discussion. It seems that some members of the Alt-Right and the Anarcho-Capitalist community views that as a weakness. As if tolerence has been taken for granted.
For me, and I guess other people like me, Steemit is place to just focus on your favorite tags and have the discussions you want to have. I do not buy this place as some sort of social media utopia. It isn't. Facebook, Twitter, and all the other problems over there will show up here, eventually. Give it time. The recent debate over porn, for example. People are people. That being said, Steemit is still an extremely cool platform and a community to be a member of, and it is one that I am always telling my friends and colleagues about. You are right, once writers figure out this place where they can follow their passions and make money without stupid SEO keywords, this place could explode. I truly believe in this platform, but one still has to be realistic.
Sorry for the rant. This has been something that has been on my mind a lot, recently.
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Followed, Resteemed and Upvoted. Excellent post! Thanks!
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Nice article . I strongly agree with your statement .
"Platform is nothing unless the user base builds a solid community"
Proud to be part of Steemit in its early days .
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Me too Pavan. I followed you ; )
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