World of Steem: What Are All These Tokens GOOD For?
So, in the course of the past 12-18 months, there have been hundreds — if not thousands — of posts and opinions about the ostensible "awesomeness" of SMTs and tokens and how they are all going to be 'the answer" to any number of Steem and Steemit's problems.
So now I am sitting here, watching an assortment of tokens spring up, for any number of reasons. And — cynic that I am — I find myself posing the question to the air around me: "What is the POINT of all these tokens? What are they GOOD for?"
Cherry blossoms, at last!
What's Happening, Here?
Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with a number of people I know who have issued tokes mostly as a humorous gesture, or just "for shits and grins." Some of them are pretty funny... but below that, WHY?
I remember a long comment I left on a post early in the whole release/debate process — maybe a year or more ago — in which I opined that 99% of these tokens would end up being issued by what I think of as "second tier social media stars" who would sadly end up discovering that they are not nearly as popular as they actually imagine they are.
Now, you might wonder why I am even poking around in this particular hornet's nest... and the answer to that is that I just can't shake this feeling that rather than help anything, tokenizing everything from games to nose hair actually makes more of a mockery of cryptocurrencies than it helps bring them to a wider audience.
Let's, for a moment, remove this whole debate from the realm of something like the Steemitsphere and just have a look at real life. Imagine your supermarket, your butcher, your doctor and your pet store all issuing their own "currencies." Aside from possibly creating some sort of loyalty program, that idea makes pretty much no practical sense at all. Nobody has the interest or bandwidth to keep up with 43 different "currencies," all with a very narrow spectrum of use.
So how are some vast variety of "tokens" any more useful here in this community?
Daffodils
Simplification... and Complexification
But let's sidestep that, for a moment. I get the impression that most of these new tokens being issued are somehow a "subset" of Steem. Fair enough.
But let's consider that statement against a backdrop of many feeling it's awkward/complicated that you have to change Steem into some other currency (like BTC or LTC) in order to change that into fiat. Deeper point being that no matter how much we love the idea of cryptocurrencies, we are still "measuring" and "valuing" everything in terms of USD or some other fiat currency.
So now we add these "tokens" to the mix... and these tokens have no real "value" is free standing anything, they are valued in terms of Steem. Wasn't that extra step part of what we were trying to avoid?
And last — but by no means least — I find myself pondering what "greater world problem" any of this solves? Or was the real (but carefully avoided) "problem" being solved merely that of how to get some more money into the pockets of a handful of token issuers?
Sunny mountain views
Pardon me, if my enthusiasm is somewhat below average here...
Don't get me wrong: I think cryptocurrencies are a wonderful idea, and I am all for having alternatives to the so-called "banksters," but just how many of these things... beyond maybe 30-50 choices... do we really need? Or should we be preparing for everything to head the way of the early days of cell phones: At one time, there were thousands of carriers... but now it's 2019, and we basically have ATT, Sprint, Verizon, T-mobile and a group of "second tier" providers.
Decentralization is a marvelous idea... but there is a big difference between decentralization and outright fragmentation into thousands of small bits, none with enough individual influence to amount to anything...
Thanks for reading!
How about YOU? What do you think about SMTs and the proliferation of new "tokens" in our community? Great idea? Or just a confusing mess? Do you think these will help Steem, in some way? Or are most of them just going to be "vanity coins" of little consequence? Do you have any of the new tokens? If so, which ones and why? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190324 23:54 PST
0948
There are certainly Steem Engine tokens such as the SUFB token (for a share in the damages in the Class Action against Facebook & Google's Crypto Ad Ban that are very serious.
However there is nothing wrong with tokens that aren't so serious and have little real value.
A lot of people mainly use their computers for non-serious things: ie to play games and watch videos.
This doesn't mean that computers are silly.
The ability of anyone and everyone to cheaply, quickly and easily create tokens for any purpose whatsoever is a dramatic and positive economic development. The free market will throw up all sorts of ideas and tokens. Many will fail but some will thrive and change the world.
Over 200k what you think are worthless SMT's just sold in the last couple weeks. There is a buyers market for hunt tokens at $.02.
I don't see the point. I'm sure they are fun, but, they have to do something other than be fun to want me to put them in my treasure chest.
Oh, now, there I go sounding all cynical.
If you find a good use for them, other than the fun of it, and God knows we all need a little bit of fun, please let me know.
!tip
Don't be mad about this, as an old friend I'm going to push my luck!
!dramatoken
I think the tokens are fun and engaging and a good portion of the internet is built on bs and mocking things. :)
Here's your
DRAMA. Don't spend it all in one place!To view or trade
DRAMAgo to steem-engine.com.Thank you for the Drama, and adding to the drama! I'm actually totally cool with the whole thing if it's out in the open that it's all "for entertainment purposes only!"
In that context, the tokens are definitely fun and entertaining.
Which pretty much leads me to thinking that those touting SMTs as the "solution" to anything (in a value/financial sense) were basically blowing a lot of hot air, or just didn't have a clue as to how markets and value work where the rubber meets the road.
Maybe if you think of them more as loyalty schemes/ points it'd help ease your angst!
That's probably the closest analogy for most of them rather than currencies.
Posted using Partiko Android
Agreed, and that's almost precisely how I see them... and I doubt I would have even written this post if they had originally just been presented as a *fun diversion."
I think it was the whole two-year lead in with the "This is the FUTURE of Steem, and will save everything and send Steem to the Moon!" sales pitch that made me scratch my head. When Ned first floated this idea I thought to myself "Dream on, bud... maybe 1/100th of 1% of web influencers are actually influential enough to make these anything other than Monopoly money."
If the current trend is anything to go by, most people get a handful of some token and think "oooh... handout!" and then promptly dump them to make 13 cents, and that's the sum-total of their interest...
But time will tell! I have almost always ended up in the Devil's Advocate seat... and I am totally happy to be proven wrong!
Well as the evidence stands you're right so far.
I tend to follow the evidence. There's too much optimistic futurology on steem!
Posted using Partiko Android
@denmarrkguy
You have jsut put into words what I've been asking myself for a while. Besides the fact that I'm neither a gamer nor hightly competitive, added to the fact that I've not got anything to buy crypto with...and each time you start mining one, its value plummets and then, to add fuel to the fire each time you convert, there is a cost.
Once you have an answer to your question, please do enlighten me?
Cynic that I am, I still believe there are a lot of idealistic people in this "game." That said, most of this sounds mostly like "Let me invent a way to fill MY pockets by selling others on the idea that what I'm doing is going to fill THEIR pockets!"
I recognize that's not a very "kind" approach... but I'm stretched to see it any other way.
I am one of them - with a dose of skepticism and absolutely no reall understanding of crypto or blockchain.
Isn't that just the way of the world? Self interest.....
idk, but I feel rich!
I am one of the dumbest people here on crypto topics, but if someone says to go get a token or a wallet or whatever and 10 other people I trust do it too - then I jump.
I've got so much stuffs in various categories of stuff that I just really do not even track it.
The whole thing is a game, and I am just happy to play :)
Plus steem was supposed to be a waste of time before I got here, and now I live off of it, so you never know.
Hey, fun is good! I'm all about fun!
But if it is "fun" then let's have some "truth-in-labeling" and call it fun, rather than pretend it's the next Holy Grail...
I get that some people make money from Steem; alas, I live in a part of the world where I'd need to be a "mega whale" to even hope to break even on the basic cost of living...
I see them as similar to shares of stock - a way to fund a worthy project. Some could have a purpose like discounting some cost or buying items only available to token holders. I suppose, like all tech, we can't really imagine what the biggest use cases will be in the future.
Posted using Partiko Android
I can see that working in the context of an actual "utility app" of some sort... like some months back some folks were trying to develop a peer-to-peer marketplace here, and there was going to be a token given as incentive to people using the marketplace.
However, most of what I have seen so far is people making a joke out of the whole scene. Which is fine, because I enjoy a good laugh as much as the next person, BUT it's hardly going to be the thing that's *"the future of Steem" nor what "sends Steem to the Moon."
Think of it like proof of brain on top of proof for brain. It's just entrepreneurs choosing a fast, free blockchain with great community to build their own algorithm of how best they can reward users.
I think you are spot on, people often times get caught up in fads, cults, crypto crap and scams. I am not saying these are scams (more like crypto kitties), but they divert people’s attention from more tangible offerings. While they play so much opportunity escapes them. Never get over-invested in any crypto.