Bringing Steemit to Japan: Market Confidence and Mass Appeal are Needed First

The language barrier would be biggest thing keeping people in Japan from finding out about and becoming interested in the Steem cryptocurrency, and joining the Steemit social media platform, in my opinion. That is, if existing uncertainty amongst the current user base could be assuaged.

I was here in Japan when Facebook first really exploded and was adopted on a mass level by Japanese. Now it has overtaken the previously ubiquitous and super popular Asian social network "Mixy,". Mixy has been "MySpace'd," in other words, by Facebook. Once a Japanese-speaking user base took hold, there was absolutely no turning back.

I feel if this is ever to happen in regard to Facebook and Steemit in Japan, or at least if a Japanese user base is to be established on Steemit, the site is going to need a much more confident user base. Of course, this kind of goes without saying, and I know the platform is still in beta mode, but is the creation of such a user base likely at this point?

After the huge spike of new users flocking to the site in July/early August, interest seems to have trailed off a bit. With this leveling out, payouts also seem to have leveled out as the currency continues to drop in value. This is not to say this is abnormal, necessarily, but if this currency is intended to grow, internationalization and new users are necessary. I am left wondering, what is the real game plan here? Is there one?

In order to internationalize, people need to start doing business in Steem, bringing more users to the site, and allowing common users to gain more confidence in the currency. Is this happening/going to happen?

As it stands, I think many new users are still extremely skeptical and are cashing out (like myself) without really re-vesting, or sharing the platform with others. Due to my current work situation, I also have been cashing out, but not powering down. I need the money from SBD, but also remain vested in SP. When my financial situation improves, and I can afford to vest even more in Steem Power, I plan to.

I think once business transactions made directly between goods and Steem become more ubiquitous, people will have more confidence in promoting the currency to friends and family, and then the user base will grow. This is what will eventually lead to internationalization.

I am excited about Steem. I don't feel extremely informed, however, as to how decisions are made at a core level, or what steps are being taken to develop the Steem currency and this social media platform, to bring them to the next level. This makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable. Maybe it is just me. Maybe it is a lack of knowledge as to how the system really works. I have read the white paper, watched numerous interviews with the founders, and picked the brains of those who are more knowledgeable than I regarding all things crypto.

I feel like the community could really benefit from some sort of newsletter for IT laymen and common users, like myself. As an anarchist in Japan, I would bust my ass spreading the word amongst the Japanese should my confidence in the coin/platform increase, but to be honest, I am still watching the system to see where it goes. I realize these are not always popular things to say on the Steemit platform, but feel saying them is important.

There are already several Japanese users here, one of whom is my wife, @mslight2016. I am delighted to see others post in Japanese and Chinese, and hope this trend continues. The moment I see Steem being traded on the market like Bitcoin, and not mainly as a "cryptocurrency to trade for Bitcoin and then to dollars," I will be preaching this gospel all the more vehemently in my second langauge, and promoting like crazy. I already have promoted the platform to several friends and family in my closest circles.

If any of you have any news regarding Steem marketplaces, or Steem in Asia, please let me know in the comments. What are your thoughts? Is Steem going to be taken as seriously as Bitcoin someday? Or is it just an interesting and lucrative, if somewhat short-lived and dubious, internet phenomenon?

One thing I will say, and that I am confident of, is that blockchain-based social media is definitely here to stay.

Thanks for reading,

~KafkA

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist residing in Niigata, Japan.