Thinking Out Loud #2 - A 10 Year Vision, Live Chats and a bit more Curation...

in #steem4 years ago

It's Saturday night and it's raining again.

I've planted the cauliflowers and now it's time for a few reflections and then a movie.

My first 'Thinking Out Loud' post last week got some got some useful feedback and comments so I will try it again...

This week I have been thinking longer term and about our 'customer service'...



1. A Ten Year Vision for Steem

It is very easy on Steem to get caught up in the here and now - what should I post next, how will I keep up to date with answering comments, when will the price go up again...

We do the same day after day. Some people call it 'the grind'. But I actually enjoy it.

In fact if I didn't I wouldn't still be here.

I have now been on Steem for coming up to two and half years. For me that is a long time to stay in one place.

There must be some extra attraction that keeps me running on the wheel of Steem.

I guess that attraction is my vision for Steem.

Despite its sometimes bumpy path I do still see great potential for Steem.

One key part of that is its potential to become the 'Wordpress of the Blockchain' - to power websites with SMTs, and with Hive Communities, to provide off the shelf and ready to go sites for all type of groups and organisations.

I wrote about this a few weeks back...

By chance @theycallmedan was doing an AMA today so I put in the question "Where do you see Steem ten years from now?". I was delighted to hear him answer along similar lines.

A convergence is coming...

Maybe one part of this movement might be found in a proposal that has just been submitted by @futureshock to the SPS for 'Teelkee'...

That definitely looks like it could take Steem on the path I see ahead. I do hope this picks up support on the Steem Proposal System.



2. Do we need Customer Service? Do we need Live Chat?

If you are a newcomer to Steem and you can't work out what do, where do you go for help?

For the lucky few stranded ones a kind hearted steemian will answer a question or two in a comment, or point you to the FAQ or maybe Steem.Chat. If you are very fortunate you will be found by one of the welcoming Discords like @steemterminal.

But for the most part you are left to fend for yourself, flounder around in confusion for a post or two and then give up and leave.

Do we need to up our game with 'Customer Service'?

In the real world businesses have help lines you call, or even better support agents on Live Chat.

Of course Steem is not a business and we not selling anything so the economics don't stack up but we do so desperately need to improve our retention. We cannot afford to let anyone who has gone through the rigmarole of signup slip away so easily.

A live chat system would be my dream, but I don't see that as a priority for Steemit Inc to resource. It would need money for a subscription and people to staff it.

The subscription costs are not high (there are even some decent free options) and for the staffing I wonder if a community rota could be drawn up to keep it operational 24/7.

It would be absolutely fascinating to see if a Live Chat help system improved newcomer retention.

Maybe it could be trialed first on a frontline tribe site that is looking to push itself into the outside world. Perhaps it could be built into Nitrous as a premium addon...



3. Curation, curation - can you ever have too much?

Manual curation is all the rage these days. It is definitely on the up.

But there are some 'wobbly bits' with it.

A lot of people are very keen on comparing 'curation efficiencies'.

While it is useful to make money from curation, to me that should rather be a secondary consideration.

My take is that curation is about recognising and rewarding good quality or useful posts first and foremost.

That is also why I think it can be an added benefit particularly for less well known authors to highlight their work in a summary post. Of course not for everyone you vote for but certainly in theme specific digests.

I am not, as you can probably guess, a pro-curator.

Although saying that I wonder if my daily Steem News posts are a sort of curation. I look at 200+ posts a day to pick out the 10 or so that make up the most important Steem news of the day.

It takes a lot of time. But it does keep me well informed as to what is going on...



That's a wrap for this week's 'Thinking Out Loud'.

They are just off the cuff thoughts and musings.

I am always happy to hear comments - it helps me get a feel as to whether my ideas are too far off centre.

Now I am off to the movies.

If you want to catch me on air I will be doing another episode of TRIBE.talk on Monday, 8pm UTC on MSP...

Thank you for reading and good night.



[ image by Romuald Bézard from Pixabay.com ]

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That is also why I think it can be an added benefit particularly for less well known authors to highlight their work in a summary post. Of course not for everyone you vote for but certainly in theme specific digests.

Exactly the kinda thing I have been pondering about! It may be time for another one of my Look What I Found posts.

Aaaaand.... here it is: Look What I Found!
Thanks for the inspiration. :-)

Glad I inspired you! Not met @myfreshes before - now following.

And that gave me an idea...

:-) Nice! I'd be curious to know.

how will I keep up to date with answering comments
More like how will I ever get any comments.
  • On a serious note I would love some type of Steem hotline (not for myself but more for new users). Sometimes I dont know something and end up spending half an hour trolling posts to find the answer or going to Discord. Not everyone is as patient as me tho...

Yes a 'hotline' or LiveChat would be a big bonus for helping newcomers and keeping them onboard.

I think though that will likely have to be some sort of community initiative...

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