Rise of the Outer Circle

A Message for Steemit's Future Leaders

Rise of the Outer Circle
A Message for Steemit’s Future Leaders

When I saw @arhag’s recent leaderboard posting, I was surprised to see my name on the list of top content creators (# 5 ?!). My first reaction was excitement, since it means I’ll make some money at the payout. Plus, those upvote bots are going to put me on top of their lists and I’ll never be poor again! But then I realized I won’t make that much money on July 4 anyway, since I’ll be putting most of it (probably all of it) into a nice Power Up.

Next, I was curious to see where that would put me on the Richlist ranking by vesting stake. Looking at that list surprised me again. I started much lower on this list that many people did, currently just above #300, though I am waiting for some more Bitcoin to clear through my bank and will Power Up a bit more in the next week or so. All said and done, if I continue to write and vote profitably for another month or two, there is a very realistic chance that I may soon become one of Steemit’s Top 100 holders by vesting stake.

The Responsibility

Oh my goodness. I did not think I would get so high that quickly. I’m not here to brag; I’m here to tell you this realization hit me a lot harder than I thought it would. Becoming a big vesting holder creates an awesome responsibility. You see, Steemit does not have moderators. It does not have facilitators for its category tags. Aside from the founders’ stakes, I know of no centralized budget for development or marketing or new user faucets or charitable donations or any of the types of expenses that a typical company might have.

Why not? Because this is a decentralized platform. Those with large initial stakes (the founders themselves, the developers, the witnesses, and probably a few others I don’t know about) were not just given big Steemit stakes to cash out and make themselves rich. These people hold the huge responsibility of minting Steemit’s currency for the world. In doing so, they do not make editorial decisions, but they must decide how best to wield their power for the greatest good of Steemit and the world.

Great post or reply comment? Upvoted. Scammy or misleading content? Downvoted. New user worth encouraging? Upvoted and welcome to the party. Does this sound familiar? That’s what we’ve been seeing and it’s what we’ve all been doing with our own votes. Steemit creates more currency on a daily basis, half of which goes to voters. The other half needs to be spent on those who make the most compelling case to be paid.

Being the 300th largest vesting stake holder gives me only a modest role in that decision-making. But being one of the top holders puts a great deal more pressure on a person.

At least it should.

I entitled this post “Rise of the Outer Circle” because I won’t be the only one ascending through the ranks. If I make that climb, I will be doing so with many more of you. And as the currency is spread out, there will be greater equality. Instead of seeing that the Top 100 vesting stake holders still control most everything, soon we will be talking about the Top 300 or 500 or 1000 names as all having a great role to play as virtual trustees of this amazing ecosystem.

If you started a company, who would you put in charge? People you trust, right? People who are trusted by others you trust. People who offer a lot in terms of the important skills and work they bring. Understandably, Steemit’s first big holders are those types of “insiders”, but by July 4, a new group of people will ascend to join them. These will include “outsiders” or outer circle people like me. I was part of the BitShares community for a couple of years and was active with the forums, and since then I’ve been writing up a storm on Steemit. So I may have a shred more credibility than the average poster, but Dan or Ned or the development team don’t know me much beyond that.

With or without me, a new outer circle of leaders will soon rise in Steemit through their own investment of hard work or money. I’m using the term “we” instead of “they” because I’ve decided I definitely want to be a part of this group. I find the responsibility sobering, but I also find Steemit incredibly fun and free. I also foresee the good it can do in the world.

Our outside circle, the first wave of Steemit’s meritocracy, will take our place near the top, not as the nouveau riche of new country club elites, but as virtual trustees who have more power than the average person to play kingmakers. At least until Steemit becomes more universally distributed to a wider base of users. We’ll have the power to make that happen, but also the responsibility to enable it in a way that is free and open, regardless of someone’s political views, religion, and background. This is the free market of ideas; as far as I’m concerned, they’re all welcome here as long as they don’t try to hurt anyone else.

What will be the future roles of Steemit’s leaders? It’s up to us whether we want to specialize and take on more formal roles moderating particular tags. If we need more marketing outreach or need to hire more developers or fund some software integration, we can agree on that, put out the word, and then simply upvote the best proposal to provide necessary funding. Contractors, developers, inventors, musicians, Steemit marketeers, THIS is the place to come to launch your proposals.

How I’ll Use My Power

Future leaders, use your power as you see fit. I won’t tell you how to wield those votes. The community deserves to know what I’ll be thinking as I click my mouse, so here it is.

I’m all for community, which is a powerful thing, and yet I’m wary of herd mentality. I don’t mind someone swimming against the current and marching to the beat of their own drummer. In fact, weird stuff brightens my day, because people can be such individuals when we are free to express ourselves without fear of backlash. We’re richer for our differences and diversity. I will upvote posters who have a different take on things from the majority just like I’ll upvote those who celebrate what we share as a community.

I want to see thinking rather than regurgitating. It doesn’t bother me one bit if someone’s views are different from mine. Explain your view, defend it, and you’ll get just as much respect from me. But it’s a different story when anyone tries to take advantage of the free and open nature of Steemit. Scammers, thieves, abusers of any sort, and anyone who can’t write or record a clear enough message will get my downvote. I hope there won’t be many.

What can we accomplish?

Future leaders: Let’s create something here that no editor, no CEO, no greedy stockholders, and no president or general can control. Free and open content, but not just from some rag on the street. This free content monster is backed by its own entire economy, a profitable one, and that’s why it’s going to take over in one field after another. Today, we move in on the territory held by Reddit, WordPress, Facebook, and the New York Times. Tomorrow, will we offer functions currently provided by Kickstarter? eBay? Google? Explorer, Firefox and Chrome?

Today, the average CEO makes more than 300 times what the average non-supervisory worker makes at those same companies. The average worker needs to work more than a month to earn what a CEO makes in an hour. Being a CEO is an awesome responsibility, too, and they would be well paid in a truly free market. But this is not a free market; it’s vastly perverted by the control of governments and rich elites to the point where normal people can’t get ahead; they can’t even feed their families or have any dream of a better life. Fortunately, technology has allowed more people to take advantage of the peer-to-peer economy, and the blockchain is taking equality to a whole new level. We can undercut those big companies and return their greedy profits to normal people.

I see a future in which our votes might accomplish even more. With the help of the blockchain and some steady growth on our side, is there any reason why we couldn’t vote on here in a major election, fund a mission to Mars, or provide fast relief for a poor country wracked by a devastating earthquake or hurricane? With smart developers, merchants, and financial people creating businesses around this ecosystem, is there any reason why we EVER need to cash out into fiat currency again? One day, we’ll be using STEEM currency, floated or backed, for anything and everything we need.

That will be the day

That will be the day you’ll find me living in a thatched hut on some tropical isle. Sitting under the palms and admiring the wide ocean views over white sands, I’ll be sipping papaya margaritas made from fruit in my very own orchard. I’ll have a simple hut and not a huge estate. Also, no golf course or pigeon-shooting for me. I’ll still be spending spare time on my hobby: the few hours each week it takes me to exercise that awesome responsibility of voting. Yes, I’ll still have a computer and it will be running Steemit.