Creating simplicity and opportunity through applications

One of the things that was apparent at SteemFest was that for the most part, people had relatively wide views of Steem, meaning that they understood more than their narrow interest view. This can be expected due to their backgrounds and experience but it is something that is very difficult to convey to everybody with a uniform approach, let alone build uniform understanding.

The thing with a decentralized system though is the responsibility of the individual to act and decide for themselves but this is very difficult without the understanding of what parts affect what, which strings when pulled move what and what changing one component will do to all others. As said many times before, this is a complex ecosystem despite the low user count and changing one factor moves all others in a butterfly effect kind of way.

However, even though there were knowledgeable and experienced people at SteemFest, there was still a lot of gaps in each as it is near impossible to understand it all. For me personally, my largest weakness is the technical aspects of the blockchain and my strengths are likely a decent global view of the situation. This means that when I talk to pretty much anyone, I am able to take part and learn from their skillset to close a gap or two more or, open a possibility or two more. I hope that those I talked to did the same in reverse.

For the average user on Steem, it is unlikely that they are going to want to learn about all of the complexities, unlikely that they are going to read about Hardfork release notes or how resource credits empower users with no stake at all. Most people just want to come in and do their thing as they choose to do it and most likely, their eyes glaze over at the mention of technical aspects. I know that mine do so I force myself to learn, it sucks and I love it.

The worst thing for a user is to struggle without knowing why they are struggling but due to the complexity of the system and the high bars on knowledge and time to really get hold of the ecosystem, they are unlikely to close enough gaps to feel comfortable.

Of course, I can say something like, "trust me, it will be okay", but why would they? They don't have the same view as I do, they don't hold the same perspective and all they see and ore importantly feel, is stressed by the system, crushed by invisible hands. For the average user, this place is very difficult and even more so when one doesn't know why. It is somewhat like playing a console game with half the buttons broken and, half the screen covered, the chance of success is low. This is where the applications are going to play a large role as they start taking care of onboarding.

Using @steemmonsters as an example a game that I have never played (soon @aggroed, soon), a new player that comes in through them doesn't have to worry about posting, they don't have to worry about the pool, redfish, whales or the community much at all. All they have to do is buy some packs, learn the rules, play some games and have some fun with it. As the @steemmonsters platform grows and new possibilities open up for players, they just have to learn the new rules. A Steemian in that world never need write a comment if they so choose, never need engage other than in battle.

This is going to be common across the applications where users are on Steem but do not have to be completely aware of everything that Steem offers. They do not need to necessarily think about curation or investment, they might be happy being consumer only. The apps are going to segment the Steem population so that those who want to stay narrow can, and still interact well on their respective platforms. Of course, once on through one app there is a high chance that there ill be cross over interactions and transactions.

This simplifies the new user startup process enormously because new users come into an ecosystem where there are a predefined set of rules to play by or at least, recommended set that can guide them. There is a narrow topic that interests them and of course, a community that populates it that already share that same interest. It cuts down the complexity a great deal and makes the user experience much better as it is significantly more likely to meet expectations.

What is going to be cool from this point is that users who do come in and enjoy themselves will then explore further, look for tips and tricks and communities will form just to support a game like @steemmonsters. But, those communities are going to likely appear on something like the forum in development @tokenbb which is being built on Steem and looks to reward communities and interaction through them.

These will be filled with Steem users too and they won't all be only players, they will be a whole range of other users from other apps and Steem perspectives. This means that conversations will organically lead away from @Steemmonsters as links are dropped for one thing that leads a new user onto another and as we know, the Steem rabbit hole is deep. This means that bit by bit a user can follow their nose to wherever it leads them naturally without being forced to be there. They will find apps they haven't heard of, new users and of course plenty of opportunity that they had no idea existed when they bought their first starter pack.

In time, a new user coming in will have a very simple and free start on Steem and as they go, it will be up to them if they want to dig deeper or if they are happy staying in their narrow application playing games or reading product reviews on @steemhunt. Of course, those who are on the views of Steem doing what they do are going to have a new filters coming that allow them to skip content they aren't interested in or perhaps, explore much further. For example through @steempeak it is already possible to filter content and add favorite topics.

All of this leads to much more organic discovery as it happens across platforms rather than through the very limited and basic view steemit.com offers. It means that there will be cross-pollination of users who will introduce each other to their own interest areas and have a much higher chance of being not only visible but, considered as they are already tied together by community.

On Steem it is hard to be a new user currently because you are thrown into a sea of everything but this is changing and people will find that they will have more chance and use from engaging within their communities. This will create closer groups interaction and of course, the development of social trust.

You might not trust me when I say, "trust me, it will be okay" but after spending time interacting with people at much more granular and personal levels, you are much more likely to find people you trust. And when that happens, more stability forms as the relationships pull together to form individuals who are community orientated. Like everything in life, this is not an overnight process, it is not a click your fingers and it is done event, it takes time and a lot of work that requires many steps, one foot before the other.

Dealing in complexity isn't easy here but there are people trying to simplify it for new users of the near future. The next year from now is going to see a great many changes to the way people interact on Steem and a great many new opportunities will open up. For those that are here now it is either going to be keep doing what you are doing and stay blind to what is changing or, see if what is changing will actually make things much easier for you considering you likely already hold some knowledge as an early adopter.

I would never ask anyone to trust me by the way. The beauty of Steem is that it is an immutable track record and it is my history and reliability that is the predictor of my own future actions. Knowing what I do at this moment, I am bullish on Steem and confident that not so far down the road, this will be a place for creators and consumers to enjoy.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]