Steem Thoughts - Inequitable Value Between Users and Apps
Hello everyone! Here is part 3 of my "Steem Thoughts" series. I hope I can get more people to understand this platform through this series. In part one, I shared my views on the differences between traditional apps and Steem apps. In the second part I discussed whether Steem is a fat or thin protocol.
Today I am going to talk about "value". What is the value of the Steem platform and who is generating it? To understand the value of the platform, we first have to ask ourselves, what does Steem provide which no other platforms can? Steem provides a data layer (blockchain) which is immutable, public and distributed. Hence, this data layer is transparent, attack-resistant and censorship-resistant. This is unlike typical databases where they kept as private as possible. Because of the openness of Steem blockchain, it enabled many creative applications to be built on top of it.
Recently, State of the dApps added Steem to their site. Heading over to site, you will be able to see a list of apps built of Steem. Steemit.com is listed as the top dApp on the list with the most number of users. Not too far below, we see Steem Monsters.
And if you just filter by dApps from Steem platform, we see a whole list of them. This fully illustrates the potential of Steem.
Steem Users vs Steem Apps
Value generators should be rewarded. Steem as a whole is generating value by providing an open platform for developers to build on and users to interact with. Those who maintain the platform should then be rewarded. That is why witnesses who produce blocks are rewarded for their effort.
But value is not just generated by the Steem platform alone. Users and apps also generate value. Users provide contents and apps provide services. Therefore, they too need to be rewarded. However, what I am seeing now is that rewards are too skewed towards users and apps developers are not given a fair share.
While it is important to attract users with rewards, I think it is more important to incentivize developers as well. That is why I have configured @steeveapp as a beneficiary for my posts. Starting with a small 3% beneficiary weight, I hope this is sufficient to serve as a token of appreciation.
Mindset of Steem Users
For Steem to be able to gain mass adoption, the mindset of users needs to change. During the cryptocurrencies bull market, many users started blogging on Steem just for the money. Perhaps it was a decent source of income back then. However, with the market crash, it is no longer a good source of income.
We are seeing a lot of users leaving because the they started on the wrong foot. If Steem apps can start to attract users not with the potential rewards, but with superior user experience, then we can start to see mass adoption.
Conclusion
Value generators should be rewarded. If not, eventually, value generation will start to diminish. I am of the opinion that apps developers should be rewarded more than users. Although users are providing valuable content, they are only made possible when through an application. Therefore, apps developers should be rewarded more.
Do you agree that the rewards are currently too skewed towards users? What do you think Steem apps developers should do to get a fairer share of the rewards? Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!
Links to my "Steem Thoughts" series:
- Part 1 - Traditional Apps vs Steem Apps
- Part 2 - Is Steem a Fat Protocol or a Thin Protocol?
- Part 3 - Inequitable Value Between Users and Apps
@Culgin, you have made a strong point that "apps developers should be rewarded more than users because they provide the application through which users make their valuable content".
What then are your suggestions?
I think apps developers have to build a strong and compelling user interface. We already started on the wrong footing. The current users are mostly hoping to earn money from posting on Steem. I will love to see apps not boasting potential monetary rewards for users. I think Steem Monsters is doing a rather good job at that
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Good point about developers should be rewarded and users must change their mindset. :-)
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment!
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Well, I second this too. But if a dev could make app naturally reward themselves while providing value to users, I'd call them genius.
Indeed. I think Steem Monsters is doing a good job at that. Bringing fun to users and yet able to gain from it
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hi @culgin
I just found your series right now. I definetly will read it all as Im very curious what did you write about.
I was only wondering: didnt you consider changing your thumbnails? Current ones are not encouraging to view your post and you may be losing some audience right at this moment, when they are scrolling through newsfeed.
Anyway super interesting topic. It's easy to understand "price" but to have a better of understanding what "value" is about ... that's more tricky. I personally have some difficulties explaining that.
This is one part that I'm very sceptical. I really do not understand why people keep thinking that it's censorship-resistant. How come? i dont get it.
ps. I dont understand that part about Steevapp and those 3%. Im not using Steevapp (so Im still in majority) and I would love to understand what those 3% are about.
Completly agree with you. We need people who can be active on Steemit without treating it as a tool allowing them to survive. Because those people will vanish very fast.
ps.
Dont you think that steem create some solid VALUE, but there is simply almost no demand for that value? It's like creating something amazing, but noone really wants it.
Yours
Piotr
Hi @crypto.piotr,
Thanks for the comment!
Didn't really consider that. Haha.. perhaps I should. Probably will try it on my next article. Usually I will just let the first image be my thumbnail.
It is censorship resistant because it is much more difficult for a government to block access when there are full nodes running all over the globe. Imagine if I want to block Facebook, I simply block *.facebook.com. However, if I want to block Steem, I have to block Steemit.com, SteemPeak.com, Steeve.app, Busy.org and many others. Even if all interfaces are blocked, users can still technically browse content from the nodes directly via APIs. Hence, it is censorship resistant. Of course a very determined government can still censor it, therefore it is not censorship proof.
Beneficiary rewards allow your authorship rewards to be shared with another account you like. In this case I am sharing 3% of my author rewards with @steeveapp. It is a way of appreciating what another account.
Agreed. I think there are many great inventions that didn't take off because of a lack of awareness. In many cases, it is also a lack of user friendliness.
We are in an age where there are so many new developments every day. Hence, it is difficult to draw users' attention if the application does not have a killer feature. Steem need that killer app to really gain mass adoption
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I forgot to thank you for your comment @culgin
STEEM blockchain will naturally have all records. But all frontends like Steemit, busy.org, steempeak etc. will be able to "hide" unwanted content.
Imagine even right now, that some goverment body would create few accounts with large amount of steem. Even by downvoting they can push unwanted content into oblivion.
And what if they will contact Ned and will tell him, that Steem Inc. has responsibility to ensure that there is no "hate speach" on this platform? Surely all things will be in blockchain, but Steemit doesnt necessary will present all those datas.
Does it make sense?
Oh, you actually answered :) I think that with current society not being on all those major interfaces is like not existing at all. So censorship will be still very obvious for masses.
ps.
Also please allow me to invite you to visit my latest post (my last one in 2018). Together with few friends we decided to organize small charity event "Santa Venezuela" and hopefully we can count on your help. There are many ways of helping our venture :)
Have a great Xmas :)
Piotr
The developers should put some mechanism on their application that rewards the development team. Much like you did. If the users are made aware of it and they value the product they won't care for a 3% micro transaction on every vote as an example.
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Yea. But many users with the mindset of coming on Steem to make money will be put off by the beneficiary rewards. That's why I think users' mindset got to change
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I am sure there is a magic number that consumers and devs can agree upon.
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I am wondering that steem is progressing very well but it is getting lower and lower. What is the reason for that?
I think it is an overvaluation from the start? Cryptocurrencies prices are volatile. Hence, there may not be any logical explanation for short term fluctuations
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Don't all these dApps take a cut?
And if they don't take a cut, like Steem Monsters, they create revenue from purchases.
Not all. For example Steemit.com and SteemPeak.com do not take beneficiary rewards by default.
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Steem Inc owns a few accounts with large holdings, which benefits from prices going up.
As far as SteemPeak, it would seem, that if you use their app to create a post, they benefit.
https://steempeak.com/support-us
This applies for any account holding Steem. Price can go either way, so I don't think it is a fair to treat it as a reward
SteemPeak has beneficiary function but it is not enabled by default. Users have to make a conscious decision to turn it on. Which I guess most people won't.
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