What STEEM Needs

Is Another Post About STEEM—Not

There's been a lot written about what STEEM is, what it needs, what takes priority, and why it can't seem to get any traction as far as value goes. And of course, there's plenty of blame for all of this being laid at the feet of different players, ranging from individuals on STEEM to Steemit, Inc., and the perception that there's nothing good to read here.

Then, of course, there are more posts about what any of it might mean, from STEEM being more or less called dead, or that it's just a matter of time before it does blow up, or that whether it blows up or not, people have decided to quit and they want to tell others why. And there are those who are predicting that any moment, STEEM will take off, despite every indicator to the contrary, or particularly because of those indicators.

So, we get all the pros, all the cons, and everything in between, all wound up in basically what is an impossible to unravel ball of twine.

I haven't read every single post about STEEM ever written on STEEM, but my guess is, the topic is pretty well covered, from virtually every conceivable angle, with every degree of passion, apathy and disillusionment, excitement and so on.

Most likely, the last thing STEEM needs is another post about STEEM.

Yet here we are. And, we're likely to be here again, and again, and again.

So, What's The Point?

I tend to be a big picture kind of guy. I can get into the guts, into the minutiae of things, but the details are generally something one individual rarely has much control over when there's a myriad of other people involved. All of those little things, for lack of a better term, can't really be quantified or identified before they're happening. They come along as a result of people doing what they do.

Which is pretty chaotic and hard to plan for and even more difficult (probably impossible) to control.

That's why I prefer the 30,000 foot view. You can see what's going on from there. Instead of focusing on what each individual moving part is doing, you can see what the whole thing is up to. If it's moving in the direction you generally want it to go, great. Maybe some course corrections are in order and you can try to implement some in a general way. Or you can hone in on a section that might be keeping things from getting anywhere without disrupting everything else.

In other words, zoom out to see what's going on, then zoom in as far as you need to go to work on and implement a solution.

What Does STEEM Need Then?

STEEM needs to take a collective deep breath and chill just a bit. Then, instead of trying to decide what it wants to be, so it can tell others what it is, it needs to decide what direction it wants to go in, and then work on how to get there.

To me, that seems simple enough. I would imagine that everyone wants STEEM to go up. That's the direction. Not down. Not sideways. Not up then down then sideways. Just up. There can be some highs and lows but the general overall direction should be some form of an incline.

So, great. How do we start going up? This is where STEEM generally falls apart and becomes like herding cats. As much as some will talk about how centralized STEEM is, when it comes to any kind of plan (except for hardforks, it seems), STEEM acts as about as decentralized as it gets. Which too often has equated to dysfunctional, to the point where the two words appear to be one and the same. In my mind, that's not true at all. Decentralization only means there's not one individual group or entity making all the decisions for everyone else.

But that doesn't mean that enough people can't come together, and after determining that up is the direction we all want to go, come up with a way to get us there.

As it is, it's not going to be one single answer. It's going to be multiple answers. And some of it, is going to be outside of STEEM's control. And that's something STEEM is going to have to recognize if it truly wants to get anywhere.

Well, That's Great. You've Essentially Given Us Nothing

I would argue that I've just given STEEM all it needs to succeed, to go up, but I can certainly elaborate.

We have all been drawn to STEEM for different reasons. Many of us have found our niche here, while others are still trying to figure that out. Everyone, though, has some kind of vested interest in STEEM. Most of us have something we're now doing or want to do to help that along.

Whatever that is, keep doing it. There are some things STEEM doesn't really need to succeed that people may be doing, but for the most part, STEEM is going to need most of it and more to go up.

Investors, Developers, Businesses, Creators, Curators, And So On

We often hear that we need group A, B, C, D, etc. And just as often, those groups seem to be at odds with one another, to the point it might seem like they just can't get along. There's too many diametrically opposed interests for anything to mesh.

The problem isn't so much the groups, per se, but the prevailing attitude in those groups.

I think some heartfelt questions need to be asked.

• If you say you're an investor, but you spend your time speculating, mostly, are you really an investor? An investor, generally, is someone who invests a little more long term than a few months or even a few years. Sure, they want return, but they should also have a vested interest in the success and direction of STEEM. In other words, we want our investors to be stakeholders who participate in making STEEM better, not jack up the price and then sell at the highs (not that there's been many of those lately).

• If you say you're a developer, but then you depend on STEEM delegations and STEEM users to get your barely ready for beta dApp off the ground, and then you run when you've made enough to move on, or you drop STEEM entirely while making your own token, is that what's really in the best interest of STEEM? Steemit, Inc. has come up with a new way of going about their delegations which basically requires development teams to help promote STEEM while they're receiving the delegation and up to a year after. And it's not going to be for bootstrapping dApps anymore. So, more developers need to make more of a long term commitment, not just cut and run, or create stuff people wouldn't even use if it weren't attached to the promise of STEEM rewards.

• There are some businesses floating around, but really, there's room for a lot more in this department. Since many are tied to developers, the same type of commitments are necessary. Businesses shouldn't really be waiting around to see what STEEM can do for them, if I might paraphrase a famous line, but see what they can do for STEEM.

I know there are no gatekeepers, but that doesn't mean there can't be some kind of quality control. It doesn't have to be anything more than the users being a little more discretionary and discerning and patronizing those projects/businesses that actually have their act together—not just in a post saying they do, but because they're walking the walk rather than talking the talk.

• Are you really a creator? Do you really bring something people want on STEEM? There's not been a gatekeeper for any of us here. Maybe Communities/SMTs, tribes, STEEM-Engine tokens, etc., will bring them.

But more importantly, are you staking your earnings? If the majority of what you're doing is taking, that could be a problem. One or two individuals doing it isn't, but hundreds or thousands doing it regularly? That could be an issue. STEEM isn't big enough to be everyone's means of support. It's barely big enough to be part of a retirement plan in the future somewhere. It needs more and more people staking and less taking, from whales on down.

• Do you read what you upvote, or is every upvote automated? Do you have a few that you upvote no matter what? Can that truly be called curation, and is that's what's best for STEEM? There is a lot of talk about quality on STEEM, and while it's all very subjective, I'd wager it's nigh near impossible to get consistent quality out of any social media community if no one is reading what's been written. Curation isn't just automation. There's some time and work involved, just as there is in creation.

I'm sure there are other groups, but hopefully you see where I'm going with this.

Investors, developers, businesses, creators, curators, and so on, don't have much without each other. Not on STEEM. We need all of them and more. And they need to work in harmony with one another, not at cross purposes. Take, take, take because of this reason or that reason or too many other people are doing it doesn't mean it's the right thing, or the best thing for STEEM.

Some of us fall into multiple categories, by the way. I have invested both time and fiat, I create and I curate. I haven't developed anything or created a business yet, but who knows, maybe I will more fully walk the walk at whatever point I'm not working the day job.

Getting The Word Out

STEEM definitely needs more of that. Call it marketing, referrals, word of mouth, advertising, whatever, the word needs to get out farther and wider. Not enough people know about STEEM, and a lot of what the few who do know is negative or agenda driven by other parties. That's not to say STEEM doesn't have issues, problems, warts, etc. (all very well documented—when the future archaeologists dig up STEEM and manage to decrypt it, they will no doubt theorize that STEEM's demise was from talking itself to death).

There are a lot of new things going on. If you can't talk up STEEM, talking up Splinterlands, or some other game you feel is on the up and up. There may be an aspect of STEEM you like and can share with others, rather than going for the entire enchilada all at once. Bite sized pieces are best anyway. We all could do a better job of making people aware of STEEM, not just what's available now, but what could be available in the coming months and years, the potential of STEEM, and what the person you're talking to might be able to contribute to it.

Wrapping It Up

I don't think I've written anything here that is remarkable, totally original or blockchain theory. It doesn't have to be new, or reinventing anything. It just needs to be an attitude. Some might even call it a newSTEEM. I'm down with that.

But we do have to find ways to get along with one another. There will be some who refuse. So be it. Nothing says they have to. They might need more walk and less talk anyway, before they come along. I don't know what causes some folks to be brutal or offensive to others. I can't solve it, either, other than carry on in my own way, doing what I believe is best and helping out where I can.

I think that's all any of us really should expect from each other. If we get more, great, but STEEM is made of a lot of part-time participants with full-time lives. The herd of cats I was talking about earlier.

So, go back to what you were doing, but do it with purpose. That's what STEEM ultimately needs.

STEEM needs you.

_{Image source–Pixabay}