Pools of resources to do with what we choose

So as expected, the code has been updated to include the delegation of Resource Credits (RCs) which paves the way for a whole new assortment of games to play and processes to form. Honestly, I am unsure at this point how and what will be possible completely but having a resource that can be used to signup and empower users for no cost to the introducing account is going to change things a lot.

So, more conjecture and guessing.

Firstly, it gives a massive amount of scalability to the system as it means that an account can provide the necessary bandwidth without having to compromise the capabilities of the delegating account. What I mean by this is that if an account needs 30 SP worth of RCs to interact here adequately, my account with 25,000 can support 800+ accounts without costing me any of my own capabilities as it would if I delegated 30 SP to each account.

Ad hoc needs

Additionally, the resource pools function that will be implemented in the future will mean that I am able to put my excess credits into a pool that can be potentially drawn upon on an 'ad hoc' basis. What I mean by this is that currently using vested SP, it is bound to the account and is therefore locked in for a period of time. This is to make sure that it can't be abused and draw additional value from the pool. With RCs being unvested and powerless, it might be possible to have it be delegated and undelegated very quickly from a pool of resources. This means that it only needs to be activated for current users of a system.

For example, an App could have a pool of resources it allocates to users who do not have enough themselves but it may only have to delegate the RCs at the door, a stamp of entry so to speak that allows them access to the blockchain through their portal. When they log out or are inactive for a period of time, they could automatically de-delegate if they themselves have limited resources and provide for the next through the door. This means that accounts that go inactive will not be hogging resources.

I don't know if this is possible.

Rules for use

The other thing that is potentially possible through having RC pool-based rules of usage means that to have the active delegation, an account may have to adhere to platform rules. As the decentralization of apps and interfaces continues, this can change the behaviors quite heavily of those who come onto use the platforms.

Remember that SMTs are coming so an SMT supplier can have a pool of RCs to allow new users to interact and earn their SMTs based on the rules they have applied. I am quite sure that at least a number of the Apps are going to trial one account per head verification to cut down on spam and various scam activities. Most will have options for community accounts etc to be developed to. This means that they are more able to police their communities from the get go as onboarding happens rather than chasing correction after. There are many rules an SNT could apply for their user base and then it is up to the users to decide if they want to use the service or not.

Non-valued value

Because RCs have no vested draw on the pool, there is much less risk of abuse and a great deal more control and versatility available to give access to earning things like SMTs or, interacting. People have been concerned that small accounts will suffer but that will simply not be true if the pools are used well. However, those with RCs will benefit and will likely benefit heavily if Steem goes truly mainstream as it is their resource Credits that will empower new users to the blockchain.

Essentially for the future, there needs to be a consumer class of user that comes in to the blockchain just to have a look at what it holds. The kind of account that uses Youtube but has never uploaded a video to it. One of the beauties of the RC system is that this can happen at zero cost to any user as long as there are Resource credits available and, it means that a user who can interact and creates heavily on one platform can skip to another and become a consumer user only instantly.

I have to keep reminding people though that the ore of the system is still based on STEEM Power as that is all that creates Resource Credits. Those with Steem Power will have advantages over new users who come in without, as they should as essentially Steem holders have played a game of risk in the hope that future advantage is worth more than current price. This could be their holding investment truly starting to pay off.

Power of Community

These things are conjecture and predictions only, but however one looks at it the inclusion of RCs puts the onus of onboarding, empowering, policing and continued decentralization firmly in the hands of the community and those who hold stake. RCs mean that there is a great deal of options available and plenty of new room to move that will drive development and uptake of the blockchain if the community desires it to be so.

What this also does is gives all users a much more free market drive for direction as it will be the users who decide which platforms get used or forgotten. This means that rather relying on Steemit delegations and the staked Steem community for income, Dapps and Apps will have to become evermore outward facing to include new users and consumers of their products and services. How they choose to approach and finance these things is up to them but I am hoping that more and more will realise that they need outside funding and bring additional investors into the fold.

The benefit of having a community behind each though is that the initial word of mouth and possibly even some investments and support will be available from the Vested Steem community already. A user with vest can provide bandwidth resources to new users and still be able to support those users with full vested support if they choose. That means that real value will be found by investing into the Apps and services that offer real growth potential for a mainstream audience or an active niche.

Who knows

As said, I cannot say entirely what is possible nor what people will eventually do with their Resource credit power but since self-voting is essentially out of the question with it, what gives it value is the scarcity of it. Currently, there is plenty of RCs available but they are locked up without the ability to use them but as delegation implementation comes on line, that changes. This means that what will really give RCs future value is having Apps and websites that are successful using them and with SMTs this could be a big win if some do well in their various industries but failure of any one of them is never complete as what powers it can be pulled back into the pool.

I am pretty excited with the possibilities of what could come out of this even though I don't know what is actually possible at all. What will hold this all back is if people continue to think that all the Steem blockchain can do is all that it has been able to do up until today, it just isn't true. This blockchain is just a content delivery ledger but in being that, it is very, very versatile and can be used in a multitude of ways to create many types of value streams. Some are economic, some are social and it is increasingly up to the community how it all develops.

Doesn't the possibility of the future excite you? One of the things with humans is an immediate sense of loss outweighs the potential gains in the future. We saw this when the HF happened as people complained about not being able to move or vote for a few days, we will see this with every change to come. The trick to survival is to zoom out from the static a bit and see that the spikes compared to the big picture potential are molehills at the base of a mountain.

Get ready to climb.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]