Great post! I'm excited to see where this goes.
I've been trying to finalize my own thoughts about this stuff, but haven't put anything down yet. I do think clarifying who we are and what our unique business proposition is matters. Network effect and platform loyalty are really important hurdles for us to overcome in the attention economy. Many people use Facebook, for example, to stay connected with friends and family. Until those friends and family are on Steemit, they will continue to use Facebook because it currently enjoys a natural monopoly on that attention due to their massive network effect and the quality of the service they offer.
How can Steemit compete with that? Many who I've introduced to Steemit still post on Facebook for those reasons. The rewards aren't enough for them to post here instead because they don't post things for rewards, they post to stay connected. I came here and built new relationships and new connections. Many are unwilling to do invest more time and attention to do that because they are already spread thin. If Steemit isn't comparing itself to Facebook, then is it more like Reddit? Or maybe Medium? Understanding ourselves is the first step towards a clear vision to what we will become and how we will get there.
I think your exact point is addressed by the focus on developing countries. If you've ever read Innovator's Dilemma or Blue Ocean Strategy, you will recognize that the existing mostly Western attention market is a red ocean, one which is well served already. And disruptive innovations focus on the undeserved market, ones which are more trouble than they're worth for the incumbents. I would certainly recommend both books if you haven't read them.
I don't think I've read Blue Ocean Strategy, but it's really familiar, so maybe I read a larger summary of it. I'm familiar with the concept, anyway. You make a great point, but I think the incumbents understand this also and what used to be too much trouble for them will quickly become their primary focus. That's why companies like Google are investing in things like Loon to get internet to areas which don't have it. I've read about Facebook doing similar things. They are thinking long term and have huge reserves for marketing to push their platform into those areas. Can we beat them to it? Maybe. I think it will involve highlighting aspects of our identity which can create a natural monopoly for us (rewards for attention, decentralized control, no censorship, etc).
Interesting point, Luke. However, I think steemit doesn´t need to address the "classic" FB user profile at the moment. These users may come when influencers start conquering the platform as an additional channel to monetize their content. But at the moment I don´t think we should try to compete with services that are rather focussing on quantity than quality. The level of interaction is considerably higher on steemit. People that can´t stand the "I like it" superficiality anymore, will find their way to steemit or similar platforms that provide deeper messages.
Maybe I'm just sad about all those on Facebook I've brought over who did create Steemit accounts, posted a few times, and then didn't come back. I'd love to just have conversations with them here. :) Many of them were anarcho-capitalist bitcoin fans as well so they weren't really the classic profile. I've been planning on doing a video for a while to analyze that and figure out why the staying power just wasn't there for them. When I see them in person, they often say things like, "Oh, I'll be back to post soon" or worse, they lost their private keys (!!!) which is just really sad. Thankfully @gandalf (@gtg) was able to help me get one of them reconnected recently. :)
Oh that´s really frustrating :-/ Now I understand...
It would be really interesting to know why the left. I´ve just touched the very same issue in another comment down here. Retaining people is key!
Before thinking about onboarding we might have a retention strategy.
Why would anybody ever stay more than one month on the platform?
Maybe it´s about entertainment, special curation programs, trainings (how-to blog),... Maybe we have to comprehend steemit more as a "place to spend time" instead of a pure content platform. Like building a city, a shopping mall, a theme park or whatever place that is fascinating and engaging. --> SteemWorld :)
There might be infinite ideas how to make steemit even more attractive for new users. It can´t be rewards only since it takes time to build up a brand and really monetize it. We wouldn´t be able to meet strictly economical expectations here.
I do think they will come if there is a way to 'allocate' , say rewards, to non-users of the platform ( those who haven't signed up yet ) . So grandma has a reason to post on steemit if she knows her rewards are being allocated to Johnny her grandson who hasn't signed up yet. Johnny signs up to say hi to Grandma and Grandma knows she is support Johnny's college fund by giving him updates. It doesn't have to show anything about payments at that point as that is between Grandma and Johnny only thus giving the platform a look of just 'connecting' all the time and not 'rewards' all the time.
There are numerous ways this can be used. A sort of 'path' re-direction use cases for SteemIt.