The Decentralized Challenge Steem Poses

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There was an article that appeared yesterday noting how Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey both appear to embrace blockchain. This is a radical shift from the centralization model they previously profited from.

Of course, we need to be cautious about how much trust we place in what these two are saying, especially the former. After so many scandals related to data, Facebook is starting to be cornered. It is still the most dominant social media application and that is not likely to change anytime soon. Their image is being tarnished and they will suffer as people rebel against "surveillance capitalism".

https://www.coindesk.com/why-mark-zuckerberg-and-jack-dorsey-are-warming-to-blockchain

Zuckerberg's recent favorable appearance to decentralization through blockchain should be viewed with a large amount of skepticism. This is more likely a massive PR move to try and get the heat off the company.

The biggest problem facing a transition of this nature for a company like that is the present business model is still highly profitable. Facebook still has eyeballs, lots of them. Thus far, in the online world, eyeballs mean money. Facebook generates enormous sums of cash through their advertising and Wall Street is not likely to give that up. Zuckerberg does own enough stock that can do what he wants yet the backlash he would face is massive.

Even if they do make this conversion, it will only be a partial decentralization. The true value of this structure would not be felt by the company. It might solve the data hack problem yet it will still put them in a stalled position.

Many will say that Steem does not compare to Facebook, that there is not an app that is even close. That would be correct. Nothing on Steem offers the product that Facebook does. However, I feel it a big mistake to look at things in that manner. It is an apple to oranges comparison.

The true value in decentralization is the innovation.

A public decentralized blockchain allows for anyone to place an application on it. We have programmers all over the world banging away at code to create platforms that interest them. At any given time, we have no idea what is being developed or what application will pop up next. In this regard, there is total freedom.

Facebook is a company that tightly controls its research and development. There are certain parameters everyone there is working within. Any new ideas are vetted in some form until approval is reached. If not given, back to the drawing board.

On Steem, the approval takes place AFTER the application is created and released. It is the community who determines the project through usage. Massive adoption means success. There is no committee to convince as to whether it is an endeavor to be pursued.

Also, we use open source in most instances. This means the path to new innovations is decreased. People can take ideas already out there and build upon them. The mindset of competition is dwindling since all who are stakeholders on Steem are going to benefit from additional development regardless of who is comes from.

Steem is rapidly becoming a very popular blockchain. It is not reflected in the price and placement on coinmarketcap but that is okay. It is still a hidden gem in my opinion. We are seeing recent additions really add value to what is taking place on here. This is only going to expand as the year progresses. I feel we are nearing a major inflection point which gives this ecosystem a major shot in the arm.

It feels like the tortoise versus the hare. Steem just keeps plugging along. Other blockchains get a lot of publicity, racing up the rankings through outstanding marketing projects. While that is taking place, Steem has its head down trudging forward one step at a time. It is not sexy, glamorous, or noteworthy. That is left to those projects with money and dynamic leaders.

Instead, Steem just keeps expanding and growing. Updates are done each day by the hundreds of developers on here. Users add tens of thousands of posts and comments a day. We see word spreading one person at a time. Each week the system proves how viable it is with everything slowing moving forward.

In short, I believe Steem will have that "Amazon" moment. This is the moment where something was taking place for a long time, just most overlooked it. One day, about 5 or 6 years ago, everyone woke up to what Amazon was doing. Suddenly, they had the "oh shit" moment.

Steem is similar. The plodding along does not get a lot of attention. There will come a time when many people will "suddenly" notice Steem. All the effort and progress made over the years will grab people's attention.

Will Steem eventually destroy Facebook? I am not going to make that claim although there are some applications that could evolve into something like that. Ultimately, I feel that company is working hard at creating their own demise.

What Steem will do is provide a great deal of innovation through its applications. We have a lot of really smart people on this blockchain who are creating things that will end up being used by hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

The key is innovation. Centralization hinders this greatly. While it is a more efficient structure, the control mechanism means experimentation and growth is hindered. Steem has no such problem.

That is the biggest problem the centralized institutions in the world face. They have a lot of money and power yet they lack the ability to innovate. We are seeing technology race ahead at a faster pace. There will come a time when their will lack the ability to keep pace.

Social media's biggest advantage was the fact that billions of people built the platform for free. Web 3.0 will leverage the same people but, this time, they will be rewarded.

It is an innovation model that cannot be touched.

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