It's a carnival out there

When it comes to technical knowledge about the blockchain, I don't consider myself a go to user here. It is not that I know nothing at all, it is just that a lot of the technical details are outside of my comfort zone, not that this has ever stopped me from giving it a go. However, there is one thing that needs to be addressed when it comes to users and their complaints.

Steemit is not Steem.

_{Nor is Steemit Inc}

Steemit.com is one of the user interface views of the Steem blockchain but is by no means the only one. People can complain all they want about it to Steemit Inc, but even @ned is working on what he considers at this point will be a better interface. This sounds like semantics but it is not, they are separate animals altogether, the blockchain will exist as long as there is one witness that holds it and that can be well past the useful life of Steemit Inc.

Of course, Steemit Inc do hold a fair amount of sway in the ecosystem but that will erode as decentralization takes place. the more we as a community expect some authority to do the work for us, the slower decentralization happens. Some users want this to become paid Facebook, without understanding that Steem is not a social media blockchain, although that is how it started. It is a content delivery blockchain that has the capability to reward content of pretty much any kind.

Although Steemit.com is a blogging interface, blogging itself is going to likely become a narrow niche of the entire ecosystem as more and more apps diversify and adjust for their audience. @steemmonsters is a good example of not a blog but on the Steem blockchain as it is content. @steemhunt and @actifit are others who would qualify as not a blog but are on the Steem blockchain also.

While people are worrying about Trending, there are others working out various ways to change the platform. For example, @ned's in-the-pipeline interface nicknamed "Destiny", is likely going to take advantage of Oracles and SMTs which will be able to set non-blockchain rules upon the way content is published and rewarded. There are a host of possibilities with these that can fundamentally change the experience of Steem for all users. Will they even keep Steemit.com alive, sell it, give it to a developer to tinker upon?

The beauty of the Steem blockchain is anyone (with the skills or who can buy the skills) is able to make any interface they want, create any type of content supporting app and do pretty much anything they like with it. This has been going on for years already. If one of them creates an experience that is attractive and compelling enough, it could absorb the majority of transactions on the blockchain. For example, @Steemmonsters could mainstream, onboard a million users and take almost all eyes away from anything else here. It could also attract the vast majority of stake. Trending on Steem will still exist but, who will see it? Who looks there now?

The view of Steemit.com to the world is a problem, but this is only true while most people are joining through steemit.com like now. With decentralized account creation through discounted account creation credits and the coming Resource credit pools, most users aren't going to be coming in through Steemit.com and therefore will not see Trending, nor care what is there as they will instead be happily doing whatever they are doing on their chosen interface or SMT.

Those who are attaching themselves to the idea of Steem being a tokenized Medium clone or a Facebook clone are unaware of what a content blockchain is actually capable to deliver. Currently, most of the dApps are delivering versions of what has already been created in centralized form because it is essentially the low-hanging fruit and an easy sell. The developers of the future on steem however are going to up the game tremendously once they are given free hands and the ability to target individual user groups rather than be a catchall for profit maximizers. The ability to earn will still be there of course as it is a fundamental (but not guaranteed) part of the blockchain.

There are many people who want some kind of authority to fix their woes, but that is not the way a decentralized community works, as it is up to the community to act. In a stake based system like Steem (SMTs could alter the distribution and voting away from stake based for their SMTs purposes), having stake is your voice. You may have a very small voice with low SP or a massive voice with high but, nothing is stopping anyone from speaking up and giving their opinion.

Giving your opinion whether on Steem or in the real world doesn't come with a guaranteed audience, let alone actions to affirm the opinions. Stake still matters though it doesn't have to be individual stake. Nothing is stopping communities voting or unvoting witnesses together, nothing is stopping PAC voting. Nothing is stopping Steem Gandhi from walking to the ocean and making proverbial salt and ending the tyranny. It isn't necessarily easy to change things mind you. Who knows, perhaps a well-worded memo could change Freedom's choices on witness votes? Tried it?

When it comes to Trending, nothing is stopping anyone from going through there and flagging any of the profit away from boosted nonsense either. A decent sized community could trim any benefits away if they decided to target one or two posts a day they decided as a community were not worthy. It would change behaviors of people boosting when they know that it is likely to actually cost them directly if not up to standard.

Like it or not, this is at least currently a community that is increasing in decentralization each day through distribution of resources and the increasing number of applications being developed. These applications will bring in new users, attract stake and reward more in various ways.

As price increases, large accounts will sell a little here and there, small accounts will by a little, people might power up to take advantage of RC pool values, some might powerdown to take advantage of price because they want a Lamborghini. Who knows, but in time there will be wider distribution, more eyes, more options, more Oracle based systems, competitors, market pumps and crashes and a whole range of other events large and small that will affect everything.

This is how I see but I, like everyone else on Steem, am just a user here doing my thing, doing as I do. No one is forced to listen nor follow, no one is forced to agree or vote. I appreciate those that take the time to comment and do throw votes of course but, I am not going to expect that everyone is going to think that my ideas are the way to fix it all. My words are at best part of the ongoing discussion and I am no authority on anything, nor do I ever want to be.

If you want change here, try changing your own behaviors first and that includes the way you choose to converse in discussions. There is a name for those who keep banging their head against the wall expecting the wall to move. If you are not getting the results you want doing what you do, try something different perhaps. What is pretty cool here is despite a lot of failures, there are a lot of people willing to experiment and play the long game.

Eventually, one of the experiments will pay off. Not everyone will be happy though.

Carnivals are meant to be fun. Try having a little from time to time too.

Taraz
[ a Steemit Steem original ]