The charismatic leader of Steem

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There is an ongoing conversation of leadership on Steem with various points of view from, it is compulsory for success to it is completely unnecessary in a decentralized ecosystem. I tend to lay somewhere in the middle, but not out of indecision.

The world we have created and support is one that tends to put people on pedestals and value a personality over ideas. I see that this is one of the fundamental problems with politics and the democratic process as a charming person with little idea can gain favor over those better suited. There are other problems there too, but I am not going off on that tangent now.

But, because we value charisma and personality and like I mentioned the other day, we are blinded by confidence, the leaders we follow can bring a lot of value to an idea or product as they become authorities that drive social proof and group alignment. A leader also gives a single point of support and for a project in crypto, this can be great for generating hype in the industry, even a small industry.

Why I lay in the middle between no leader and a strong leader for Steem is that I think that what Steem needs are industry leaders, and this doesn't mean crypto industry. With the potential of Smart Media Tokens (SMTs) soon to arrive, what should be recognized is that the websites that integrate them need never mention Steem to their user base at all as it is irrelevant, in the same way that a site built on wordpress, doesn't need to tell their users they are using WP.

This means that while an SMT is powered by Steem, the site that utilizes it is its own free entity to do as it chooses and this might mean, having strong leadership. For an example which is highly unlikely but can illustrate this, if Twitter integrated an SMT into their user interface and experience, Jack Dorsey would be a fantastic advocate for creating hype and drumming up support, whilst @ned would not be suitable at that level at all, regardless of how charming he may be, as he is irrelevant to Twitter users.

The benefit and beauty of SMTs on a truly decentralized blockchain is that all users, communities, and SMT-powered sites can work independently upon the blockchain, which is a protocol. The real value of Steem isn't in the rewards pool, it is in the coding that enables anyone to participate and leverage the technology with few and very low barriers of entry.

If Steem does need a leader, it isn't to attract end users, it is to be able to approach and have sway with industry leaders, organizations and websites to put the Steem protocol in their hands with a toolkit and support to integrate it in - and that includes technical and change management solutions to help them be successful. This is something that @elipowell as CEO of Steemit Inc has to be on top of to increase the value of Steemit Inc, not making Steem end users happy, as she is the head of a private company, not Steem - although this view might not be popular.

One of the problems that many websites and communities are going to find if integrating a token of some kind, whether Steem-based or something else is, once there is value attached to actions, behavior changes. This is something we have had to deal with a lot in various ways for nearly four years already, and there are people here who can help "end-user tokenizers" to avoid some of the pitfalls. This is a change management problem that is similar to any company changing their processes.

So, while people look to find leaders within Steem, the leaders that are the most important for Steem, are going to be the ones that are currently not on Steem at all but will later integrate an SMT to tokenize and empower their end users. These leaders have already got traction and influence with their base, which means Steem needs to influence the influencer, and from this perspective, it isn't a user, it is an owner. Ownership is core to the Steem value proposition and this understanding and potential has to be transferred to the future community owners.

This all means that while Steem the blockchain needs no leaders, the communities that will run SMTs do need leaders of some kind as that is what end users are often influenced by - the hype. while hype can create spikes, Steem itself needs to eventually move away from the speculative market valuations and become a foundational blockchain that is secure, scalable and fast enough to empower thousands of independent communities and many millions of users.

And, I think this is where I will close by mentioning, that while we on Steem might spend a great deal of time contemplating and arguing about the economics of the pool, SMTs themselves will have their own configurations that are independent. What is required for secure, scalable and fast enough is not dependent on the pool at all, it is the protocol that is important, although part of the security is in the wider distribution of course.

What I believe is that while tweaking the Steem token economics and worrying about current price is fun, the concentration of development needs to look at building the protocol and pushing the awareness of Steem into the eyeline of the future owners of SMTs. Yes, this requires getting Steem out there to end users too, but when it comes to hardforks, it isn't about making us happy with the distribution of the inflation pool, it is about making sure that the SMT integrators have all the tools they need to build on a chain that they can depend on daily.

On a blockchain, the only leader everyone will follow is - the protocol.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]


Onboarding


Posted via Steemleo | A Decentralized Community for Investors


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29 comments
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So true. Sites have competitors, too. If there's an advantage to be had by tokenising interaction on one's site; established players won't want to lose ground by letting that advantage be enjoyed only by their competitors.
I'm really starting to think it's only going to take one big site to strike that match and throw it in the powderkeg.

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And while highly configurable, it is still very accessible for pretty much any level of usage. This means it can propagate very fast through all kinds of industries once word gets out.

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That is great to see.... Steem leaders are important.

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@tarazkp You're right: most people tend to be charmed by the surface level.
Our world needs more people like you who can see beyond the surface level.

  • Most people follow the herd without asking questions.
  • Few people ask intelligent questions.

This might be because following the herd is easier than going against the herd.

  • What's the difference between a leader and a manager?

By the way, both positions are important.
A manager says:

  • Hey, let's work hard to chop these trees so we can keep moving in the same direction.

A leader says:

  • Hey, everybody, this is not the right direction. This is not the right jungle. Look! By going this smoother way, we don't even have to chop trees.

Without leaders we work hard to keep moving in the wrong direction.

  • What analogies for the real world can you find in the example with the jungle?

Almost nobody talks about the fact that working hard to build the control system has nothing to do with our initial purpose of evolution.

  • Who wants to be a slave?
  • Nobody, so
  • Why do people create our own enslavement?

People create our own enslavement because they are not aware of the fact that our game is our choice:
After 12 years of education system we have zero education; information is kept hidden, because uneducated people are easier to control and when it comes to dissolve control,

  • What do people do?

They create a story, They resort to their unlimited stock of sugar to sugarcoat our challenge:

Control is not inherently bad. Fighting "control", fighting against "the system" is not necessarily good.

This might happen because: As long as people are Unaware, their frail nature is gonna choose what's Easy: sugar coating our challenge is easier than overcoming our challenge.
They are so hopeLessly Dependent on the control system that they Fight to Protect it.
We made a choice to evolve, however in an immaterial world we can't, because we don't have challenges, so we created this physical universe and we added a tough challenge aka evil, the dark side, so we can experience epic evolution, when we overcome our epic challenge, so the Good news is that when people are aware, we can head toward the next level of our game.

  • What is the right direction: evolution or control?

We don't have time to ponder at this question; soon enough, we end up in a world of total Control, of Censorship, so a good question might be:

  • How can we wake people up in Good time?
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What is the right direction: evolution or control?
We don't have time to ponder at this question; soon enough, we end up in a world of total Control, of Censorship, so a good question might be:

I think the process of control is part of the evolution in the same way that understanding and controlling emotions would be for an individual. People rarely wake up and take responsibility until their power to do so is forcefully taken away from them - up until then, we happily hand control over to others.

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After 12 years of education system we have zero education; information is kept hidden, because uneducated people are easier to control and when it comes to dissolve control,

  • What do people do?

They create a story:

I think the process of control is part of the evolution

  • How else can they Fight to Protect it?

I guess you skipped this part of the comment. No problem. Now that you read it,

  • What's your opinion about the fact that children waste 12 years of their life in the education system where they receive zero education, all because of the much protected interest for control?
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There is always something to learn, regardless of where one is. While most of school is useless, it can also be enlightening for a person who isn't passive.

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(Edited)

it can also be enlightening

  • Enlightening in what way?

Before trying to wake anyone else up, one better be damned sure one isn't asleep oneself.

  • Do you believe teachers are awakened?
  • How would you know?

most of school is useless

You're right. The question is: Why?

  • Why doesn't our government include basic education in the education system?
  • What is the use of those 12 years?
  • Why do children have to waste 12 years of their life in the education system where they receive zero education?
  • Wouldn't be better a scenario where children receive basic education in the education system?
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Do you believe teachers are awakened?
How would you know?

No. I wouldn't know for sure, but if they think they are, they probably aren't.

Why doesn't our government include basic education in the education system?

Depends where you live and what you consider education.

What is the use of those 12 years?

Very little for smart people.

Why do children have to waste 12 years of their life in the education system where they receive zero education?

Already established there is more than zero.

Wouldn't be better a scenario where children receive basic education in the education system?

Do you dictate what is basic education? You have put nothing forward for what this means.

To me, it seems like you have your thoughts and based on those, an agenda. So far you have spoken a lot without offering much of anything. It just keeps going around in circles, which isn't a useful usage of time - so far, it has offered me less than school did, and that wasn't much.

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While most of school is useless, it can also be enlightening

Do you believe teachers are awakened?
How would you know?

No. I wouldn't know for sure, but if they think they are, they probably aren't.

  • How can school be enlightening since teachers aren't?
  • Why is most of school useless?

Education about nutrition might be an example of basic education.
People go to the store to buy poison and stuff that are labeled as food even though they have zero value (with fiat currency or crypto currency) because after 12 years of education system:

  • People don't even know what is food or even worse:
  • They’re too fragile to care about themselves, about their health.

Wouldn't be better a scenario where the education system offer children education about our basic need of nutrition?

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How about: Take some responsibility for your own life, stop blaming others and expecting them to save you and mend your broken toys.

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We're in 2020 and after 12 years of education system, children have no education about our basic need of nutrition, or they’re too fragile to care about their health.
How ridiculous is that?
What great stuff can we achieve as long as children don't even know what is food?
When someone questions the system

  • What do people do?

They say:

How about: Take some responsibility for your own life

  • How else can they avoid reality?

Conforming with a broken system is easier than questioning the broken system.

  • Is this what defines us: conformity, avoidance?
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(Edited)

Nice read, as most are :)

One of the problems that many websites and communities are going to find if integrating a token of some kind, whether Steem-based or something else is, once there is value attached to actions, behavior changes. This is something we have had to deal with a lot in various ways for nearly four years already

Yeah, and although steemit.com and other interfaces are said to not have a sway on price, a business looking in due to SMT interest could well be put off by how they perceive behavior of the folks writing on the chain each day.

I know I'm preaching to the converted here, but it would be nice to see our apparent 'small' community pull together when the big guns come out to play 'soon'.

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it would be nice to see our apparent 'small' community pull together when the big guns come out to play 'soon'.

It definitely would, but I fear that there are too many high profiles that are only interested in opposition, no matter the cost.

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(Edited)

Nice perspective, as always

“ So, while people look to find leaders within Steem, the leaders that are the most important for Steem, are going to be the ones that are currently not on Steem at all but will later integrate an SMT to tokenize and empower their end users.”

It’ may seem a bit unrelated at first, but this idea reminded me of a thought I had yesterday. I just started a casual podcast with fellow steemian @vincentnijman. We obviously posted on steemit but we weren’t thinking of sharing exclusively on steemit or related platforms. We got the most listens on YouTube linked from Facebook (about 40 or so). It got me thinking a lot more about how this podcast may be a way to onboard my friends onto steemit.

When we collaborate with people from steemit and other steem platforms and mention steem outside, not as “a place to make money posting shit” but just as “that place we met” and then we bring it up from time to time, this has much more potential to onboard users than trying to convince a coworker or friend through raving manically about “the power of the blockchain.”

The common thread with you post is that growth may come about naturally from things we are doing off chain. I think a lot of the effort to grow this ecosystem has gone towards steemian exclusive material OR, it’s been way too intentional and kind of pushes people away because it sounds too good to be true and we push too hard. The best we can do for the ecosystem whether it’s on boarding users or SMT developers is to find ways to casually integrate it with what we are doing off-chain.

I will write more about this when I wake up! Lots of ideas!

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not as “a place to make money posting shit” but just as “that place we met” and then we bring it up from time to time, this has much more potential to onboard users than trying to convince a coworker or friend through raving manically about “the power of the blockchain.”

Yep, when I talk to people these days it is about were I write a lot, and don't mention the rewards or blockchain (depends on audience fot the BC part) at all. It piques more curiosity and over time leads to wider conversation. I have slowed down my onboarding to play the long game with people and have them naturally gravitate toward discovery.

The best we can do for the platform whether it’s on boarding users or SMT developers is to find ways to casually integrate it with what we are doing off-chain.

Organic growth leads to a more stable environment, but it takes longer and many people are in a rush.

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Justin Sun = Lord and Savior for Steem blockchain...JK..but we could use a hype man

Ned Scott = Joke ...has no original thoughts...just follow him on twitter and you will know

Eli Powell = Middle management

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Middle management can be critical to get things done, especially when no one wants to do much at all :)

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still no leader though !!

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Nope, but maybe charming enough to approach and convince business owners.

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will settle for anyone active actually... right now it's radio silence for months on end...

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I still take the approach Steemit Inc isn't Steem and think as long as development happens, that is enough from them. While it'd be nice, I don't think they are going to be the ones who make a marketing breakthrough.

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(Edited)

Dear @tarazkp

Funny enough, sometimes when I thought about strong leaders on steem - I actually thought about you. So your publication got me interested right away from the start.

With the potential of Smart Media Tokens (SMTs) soon to arrive, what should be recognized is that the websites that integrate them need never mention Steem to their user base at all as it is irrelevant

I was recently wondering how SMTs can be affected by new anti-money laundering directive AMDL5 - which will be valid starting 10th jan. Would you have any opinion on that issue?

Thank you for interesting read. Upvoted already :)
Yours, Piotr

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Haven't looked into the laundering thing at all, but it is going to be hard for them t stop much of anything once rolling.

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Linux does a decent job of being decentralised with a handful of leaders (for each distro and each app) so I'm sure we'll get there :)

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Yes it does and, it has survived open-sourcing and multiple versions.

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For quite a while now!

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Yep. A much bigger success than many gave it credit in the first years of its existence and, it has become a go-to for some areas of industry also.

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