This is Number 8 in a series of blogs where I talk to a Crypto/Steemit Enthusiast over Coffee

It’s been two weeks since I published Episode 8a and so I must apologise for the delay… but I think both me and @futurethinker been really really really busy.

I’ve been serious busy on the front line doing promo-steem work at the London Cryptocurrency Show last weekend and @futurethinker has, I summise, been hard at doing serious engagement and education work through promo-mentors discord channel from the world’s best kept secret windowless bunker eating raw fruit tomatoes and suffering Vit D deficiency hallucinations!!

Last time out here we discussed amongst other things: Promo-mentors/Steem-Ambassadorship/Discord/Education and Engagement & encouraging STEEM Blockchain Projects and today I’m onto Episode 8b covering:

1. The Thinker
2. FutureThinking on Steemit – The Barriers
3. Anonymity

Basically I had too much to write in one blog and had to split into two parts!

The Thinker

I wondered with FutureThinker being anonymous if there was a story behind the profile picture?
The cool statue:

@FutureThinker chose the image being synonymous with a person who looks like they are thinking and is perfectly in parity with his chosen username.

SO it’s ironic that the image, I’m pretty sure is a bronze sculpture made by Auguste Rodin, and actually IS called “The Thinker” (or in French: Le Penseur). The sculpture is on display as part Rodin’s work The Gates of Hell commissioned in 1880 and on display at Musee Rodin in Paris.

Really good choice of image & username for @futurethinker then!

Steemit – The Barriers

Our conversation came naturally across some of the problems with Steemit and discussed the barriers preventing the faster growth of Steemit and barriers to this becoming mainstream. After all it can be important to shine a light on problems/barriers in order to find solutions. Also have to remember you can only control the controllables!

In no particular order we drew up 10 barriers to growth:

1) Legislation and Tax Ambiguity

Around the world the attitude, support, framework that surrounds cryptocurrency is varied and opaque – and the level of disinformation / confusion around this can be a barrier to new users feeling comfortable joining Steemit.
I think we both agreed that some countries are leaning more towards accepting crypto, which can come in the form of taxes, but that is not a bad thing.

2) Fear of Cryptocurrency

There is widespread negative opinions / fears in media (covering all of hackers, bribery, corruption, extortion).
@FutureThinker noting that every new technology starts out with fear and negativity, because people at the start are resistant to change, but if the technology is great eventually people will come to see the positive use of it (which is already happening).

3) Raising Awareness of Opportunity faster

In order to capitalise on the opportunity @futurethinker thinks that Communities is the key and we both agree that you will trust someone you know who has a proven positive experience with crypto more easily than others.

4) Education around Steemit Mechanics and Technicalities (Keys, Wallet, Market)

The technicalities of the platform do feel like a barrier. Users gaining knowledge of this does come in time. Currently there is no real short cut to it, unless steemit is redesigned to make it more user friendly.

5) Awareness of exchanging into Fiat

Currently exchanging to fiat currency is hard and can be expensive and @futurethinker is hopeful that we will see the development of applications to make this easier.

6) Uncertainty/ Risk of Earning versus earning in FIAT world

Depending upon the nature in which a new user wishes to engage with the platform – taking the bold move to spend more and more time on the platform rather than earning in the fiat world can be an uncertain area of choice/risk. It’s clear that with the right following some users can earn better on Steemit than in their offline life or on other online blog/vlog platforms.

7) Views on dysfunctionality in system with so few having dominant influence (biggest problems: the early distribution and early miners have a huge part of the total share)

As steemit grows in popularity there will be more investors coming in – and the effect of unequal distribution will become more balanced. However, you have to ask could the current inequality be disastrous for the current community's attitude and engagement.

8) User Interface

I would guess that the steemit team are working on the interface and there are other developers doing the same like busy.org. The advantage of a blockchain based platform is that you can make many interfaces for it. So @futurethinker has faith this won’t be a big issue long term. Also it still is BETA.

9) Dysfunctionality: The rise of the bots and self voting / focusing on ROI (Bots). The lack of distribution/delegation to those that bring value to the blockchain will hinder growth.

This definitely feels to both of us like the biggest problem at the minute. I have not had chance to share the following link with @futurethinker since we spoke- but I recently saw the post on the utopian-io tag by @crokkon here which is a data led blog and is a fascinating read.

10) Retention

Much of the problem on retention comes from initial expectations but also from not understanding steemit. Our promo-steem advocate and steem-ambassador @futurethinker is tackling the problem with the @promo-mentors account and discord channel - trying to educate people and provide them with a community full of support from the very moment they join.

Anonymity

@FutureThinker was in the first cohort of Steemians to be appointed by the community as @Steem-Ambassadors and the first to be anonymous. You can read all about Steem-Ambassadors from @starkerz here where you will find information about the clever multi-proof of brain voting guild. With further summary infographic from me here and detail from developer @anarcotech here.

A few weeks ago I charted the geo-location of all the Steem-Ambassadors and was left with just one that I could not neatly plot into my three principle geographic regions of Americas, EMEA and AsiaPacific. So we are just left with the enigmatic @futurethinker looking after “The ETHER”!!

• So we can’t see @futurethinker.....
• Actually I haven’t heard @futurethinker.....
• @futurethinker chooses a statue profile picture.....
• Don’t know @futurethinker’s name.....
• Can’t geo-locate @futurethinker.....

I’ve got one more chance..…

I thought I would be the a bold and brave interviewer and save the important question to last, just in case we fell out over it (!), ……..I just had to ask didn’t I, .......one last final question:

“ So what’s your name and where do you come from?” I just blurted it out without due care, skill, pacing or delicacy - like a merciless untrained journalist.

"That is what most people ask me. But heh you are not far wrong when you think I might be from the ether". Full stop!

Respect to @Futurethinker

Thanks to @futurethinker for the time taken - it will be great to collaborate over the weeks/months to come......... it's been a lot of fun Charles Smith from Arizona (#Guess 1).

THE END

WRAP UP

You will find @futurethinker in the promo-mentor discord channel and the promo-steem discord channel nearly 24/7. He is a legend in these circles, well worth following and getting to know. If you want to get to know a little bit about @futurethinker – here is a good route in.

CryptoCoffeeArchives

Here are my past episodes with:
-{8a} The Enigmatic @FutureThinker from the Ether Bunker here
-{7} Steem-Ambassador & Utopian Contributor @mcfarhat here.
-{6} The King of #TeamMalaysia @bitrocker2020 here.
-{5} The Prince of Borneo @Danieldoughty here.
-{4} The only Dolphin in Wales @Pennsif here.
-{3} Philippines based Red Dayou @Steemitph here.
-{2} Nigeria centric @samstickkz here.
-{1} Yorkshireman @anarcotech here.
The archive collection covers #Promo-steem work in the Ether, Malaysia, Borneo, Wales, Philippines, Nigeria and the UK.