RE: State of the Sndbox - Week 17 [Reconsidering “Currency,” Presentations and Workshops]
Thanks for the update... cool to see the various initiatives unfolding!
On the "currency" issues, I believe one of the challenges we face (espcially with alt coins like Steem) is that they present more as an "investment asset class" than a "currency." What do you DO with these things? You can invest in them and trade them in markets and....? The word "crypto" merely makes them sound even more technical and convoluted.
In our efforts to try to "Sell" artists on the idea of something like Steemit as a potential social marketing/side income stream... the more "functional" questions arise: "Yeah, but I can't just buy a basket of groceries or art supplies with this." Which-- in our current incarnation-- is largely true.
I am hoping that-- possibly as part of @sndbox outreach?-- we might also put more support behind fledgling projects like @steembay... which is trying to create an internal peer-to-peer marketplace based on Steem/SBD that would allow us all to trade goods and services with each other... in other words removing some of the potential ambiguity surrounding the notion of a "currency." I realize it's not exactly what your post explores, but it seems to me it might be beneficial if simple functionality is part of the currency discussion.
This is great @reddragonfly, thanks for raising these points. And we agree, there are huge barriers (especially for artists) who need real examples of what Steem can be used for in order to become compelling to dive into. Projects like @steembay are super exciting, because they are adding utility to this ecosystem through really innovative solutions.
We think this kind of utility within Steem will only continue to grow. 2018 will be a major year in defining visibility for cryptocurrencies... Steem could be a huge leader in this movement to become more visible, accepted and empowered.