Lost in Translation is a film set in Tokyo about an ageing actor, Bill Murray, and the wife (Scarlett Johansson)of an absent photographer.

Tokyo hotel living, for both, was faceless and humourless. The hotel staff were blank faced and the corridors were more like the wings of a detention centre than a place of luxury.

At street level it was all neon, devoid of humanity. Both characters were lost, thoroughly lost in the despair of no meaningful human interaction because they spoke no Japanese and the culture, as a consequence, eluded them.

The experience of Steemit has clearly left many people 'Lost in Translation'. About 115,000 registrations and about four or five thousand 'real' active participants tell their own story.

A fork will resolve certain time-frame issues.

A fork will not resolve the absence of being user-friendly.

Watching Steemfest videos showed some of the ways in which people are bringing people together. @curie is an excellent innovation. Hats off!

As a newbie to the Steemit world, one is directed to various pages for guidance in how to get up and running – all with the best intent on the planet. It is, though, to most, Japanese. It is humourless, faceless and leaves no space for getting it wrong. I get things wrong every day! We all do.

Watching Steemfest videos showed me the issue. The community is thoroughly technology focussed and obsessed. This is no criticism of the people at the heart of Steemit. They are expressing themselves.

This book was a compulsory read when I was working in Social Media

I shall explain:

What is Apple? If your answer is ‘computer company’, stand aside.

What is Bentley? If your answer is ‘car company’, stand aside.

These companies provide experiences which enhance the enjoyment of life.

Google’s landing page is designed to be the fastest page to load on the web. Have you ever wondered why a search result features the time taken to deliver results?

The common feature in these enterprises is that they put human beings at the core of the design process.

Apple, Bentley and Google are user-centric.

Can this be said of Steemit? People vote with their feet on the web. Your code may be beautiful but you are appealing to your peers or your audience?

As I have written previously, why does Facebook now have a VOIP function and now operates like iTunes? The answer is client experience leading to client satisfaction leading to client retention leading to enhanced enterprise value. It would be beyond sad if Steemit was known for great code!

Treat Steemit participants like valued clients or enterprise value will suffer.

Another way to look at this is:

Do you want to enhance the value of your Steem?

If so, understand that it is the Steemers who will do this. Every day, in all your design, put them first.

People talk about Googling all the time.

With the right approach we will hear about Steeming in the same way.

May the Steem be with you.

Follow me @ebryans and help me cut the jargon and communicate!