Steemit: the attention economy on the blockchain, can we all row together to the finish line and win?
Not just survive, but thrive
Steemit: the attention economy on the blockchain, can we all row together to the finish line and win?
Introduction
Social Media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are widely used in our modern society and they are a wonderful business model for the owners where the public supplies Facebook with content and more importantly their attention for Free and Facebook sells their attention for large profits. Facebook has become one of the most profitable businesses in history and even in this Pandemic wrecked economy, Facebook profits are up 150% in three months according to recent earnings reports.
It occurred to me the other day, that Facebook was at one time revolutionary.
Its true that before Facebook became a household word and everyone in the world knew what it meant to” Share pictures on your wall” we had MySpace and before that we had AOL. Its hard to believe that at one time the dominant and technologically cutting edge way of communicationg was via email on AOL. Probably everyone over 30 remembers that pleasant little AOL musical jingle “You’ve got mail”.
It then occurred to me that we are in the middle of yet another revolution and many don’t yet see it.
The revolution where people move from the likes of Facebook to blockchain based social media like Steemit. The revolutionary concept of Steemit is that the company which created the application, like Facebook, doesn’t get to keep the majority of the profits. The company actually creates a system where people get paid for both their content and their attention. The two things making Facebook owners rich right now.
It also occurred to me that MySpace had one big problem
My Space was a revolutionary ways to” post your pictures on the wall”. But it had no instructions for it’s use and the interface was very, very hard to use. It was adopted by a small percentage of the youthful population willing to struggle through learning how to create their personalized internet billboard, with their life or topic of choice as the focus. Ease of use…it was an issue for My Space and it may have helped lead to its untimely fade into obscurity.
Right now I feel Steemit is at a turning point in its existence.
The leaders at Steemit Inc.,, Steemitblog, @steemitblog and Communities created and maintained by unpaid members of the Steemit community like Steemingcurators, Steemit Explained and Newcomers, have decided to face this issue “head on” during this Pandemic. Now, while large numbers of people are jobless, stuck at home and using social media every day. The Steemit Inc leadership has made instant sign-ups a reality, and provided a Mission Statement of Recruitment, Retention and Rewards. Along with solid patterns of contests and games to promote engagement, outlined a plan to develop[p a worldwide organization of recruitment, support, mentorship and is rewarding individual efforts at fulfilling the mission statements.
I think Steemit is creating a structure which create a strong, sustainable and mutually profitable community.
Let us all chip in to help this dream not just survive, but thrive, and become the model of success.
This sounds like great news.
I look forward to seeing continued growth.
Thank you
It is cool to know the leadership will bring the boat to a new port! :)
Hi @chesatochi
I think you are correct. We have strong, flexible, encouraging and rewarding leadership, now when we need it most.
Wow.... This is a very good way to ensure that people join and stay on steemit.
nice post
Thank you
Thank you!
Hello @shortsegments
It's a good analysis. Yes, I also think that the approach of the Steemit.inc team is doing a great job in allowing many to join and also remain on this platform. But they can't do it alone, it's up to everyone.
Good point. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
Thank you for your comment.
Hi @josevas217
I agree with your comment.
This is also somewhat similar to Reddit
I didn’t know that, so reddit has a token and you can stake it for a percentage of the inflation? Do they also have delegation?
Thanks
The voting system is similar to Reddit, as you upvote quality content or downvote crap, giving great content a higher chance to be seen. Steemit took this one step further, by allowing members to participate in that economy.
Thank you for the information.
Cierto tu comentario al referir que con la plataforma Steemit, basada en la plataforma Blockchain, donde las personas se les paga tanto por contenido como por su atención, Facebook no, y te apoyo cuando mencionas “Creo que Steemit está creando una estructura que crea una comunidad fuerte, sostenible y mutuamente rentable” te apoyo en este concepto. Estoy contigo en apoyar esta plataforma de Steemit.
Thank you
A la orden siempre
Nice post @shortsegments !
Social networks like steemit will make a difference and are the future. The ability to financially reward any blog production is powerful ;)
I agree
Tha k you for your comment
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Dear @shortsegments
Finally I've found some time to catch up and read few previously bookmarked posts.
Perhaps it's because scale of current revolution is nothing comparing to FB (even back in the days)?
I partly agree. However content creation and attention to this content is not the reason why FB owners got rich.
They found ways of monetizing it with ads. And ads require solid targetting to be profitable. That in return require collecting users data.
Similar business model won't work for Steemit. Unfortunatelly we're creating content and enjoying rewards (often dumping them on the market). But at the same time its obvious that Steemit didn't figure out ways of monetizing this content and attention.
So we've "revolutionary" social media - and very broken token economy. Hopefully one day it will change ... somehow.
Solid read. Upvoted already.
Yours, Piotr
I see your point about Facebook monetizing the attention through directed advertising. I think Google does this also.
Hello @shortsegments
Certainly if we all work together as a team to make steem great and where we all see benefits clear that if we can achieve, we have the best that is that by creating content we are rewarded for it, instead people on facebook spend hours and hours on a computer providing content and are not rewarded for it, so I quote your phrase: "If we all row together we can take steem to the top.
Greetings and thanks for your good contribution
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.