A CALL TO ACTION

Hello fellow Stemmians. I'm sure that the recent announcement from @ned regarding a 70% staff reduction at Steemit may have come as somewhat of a real shocker. The current bear market has hit the cryptocurrencies very hard and this has prompted @ned and co. to take some immediate and drastic measures (mainly cost containment) to keep the company afloat. Needless to say this has sent the community into overdrive in speculation about the company's future. Some have expressed their concerns and are contemplating leaving the platform, while others have suggested maintaining a cool head and waiting out the run of the bear market.

Challenging Times Require Forethought and Agility

Putting aside the growing pains associated with HF-20 and in light of what we know about the current state of affairs facing Steemit, I would like to suggest a number of steps the company leadership should consider in getting Steemit back on track. Although I believe that cost containment is a most necessary step the company must exercise at this point in time, other steps must be taken to get things stabilized and in the near term, on the path towards growth. I would suggest the following areas of consideration: initiate a funding campaign, solicit public donations, and recruit experts to volunteer their services.

Initiate Funding Campaign

Many projects and individuals have sought to supplement their funding streams through services such as GoFundMe, Kickstarter and Patreon. Each has its own set of advantages and is particularly suited for reaching certain goals. Many groups and individuals have approached this type of funding due to the inability to secure funding through traditional sources or by avoiding the risks associated with funding from institutional investors. At any rate, all three are well established and trusted sources of non traditional funding.

Solicit Public For Donations

Some people may be willing to pledge their financial support, albeit not on a recurring basis. This is where PayPal comes into the picture. The best examples I can readily think of are the many YouTube channels that support themselves through direct donations from their subscribers. This has become necessary in light of the mass demonetization efforts from YouTube that has negatively impacted many content creators.

Steemit could utilize Patreon as individuals would have the opportunity to make recurring contributions. Patreon is widely known for the perks, rewards and access to exclusive content that creators provide to their patrons. I suppose that Patreon has, in a way, become the defacto standard for those seeking recurring non traditional funding.

Recruit Experts To Volunteer Their Services

Volunteering works and can be a win win for individuals and organizations. By recruiting volunteer experts, Steemit could fill in the gaps left by downsizing. The volunteers can bolster operational processes and allow them to showcase their individual talents. In some cases, this can even help the volunteers to round out their professional portfolios. Software engineering, marketing, technical documentation, and platform evangelism are just a few areas where volunteers can make tremendous contributions to the Steemit mission.

To Wrap Things Up

These are just some of the ideas that came to mind about what immediate steps I think Steemit could take to set the "ship" on a better course, this come of course from a layman's point of view. Nevertheless, I continue to believe that Steemit has great potential. I would hope that @ned and the core leadership will be up to the challenge of exercising innovation and entrepreneur finesse as they chart a course into the future.

Comments and observations are welcomed. Thanks for reading.