Hello!
@ned, failure on some level was expected after the past months. Communication, planning and delivering was almost non existent, at least this was felt outside. The presentation at SteemFest was disappointing. The felt message was that you don't ant to deal with Steem anymore and the focus would be on destiny.
Laying off people is mostly a bad idea, especially the key players like a business development manager. Maybe a step back from CEO level and being a member of the board would be an option. CEO does not need to have the most stake in it.
I will not go into the bad management aspect on costs and constant failures as this have been addressed and are futile at the moment. Even if I think that with the funds present there would be so many solutions to get out of the mess.
There are two major problems at Steem Inc, one is planning and the other is the delivery. I'm not a huge fan of your ex partner, but he had something that is missing now on Steem and this is sticking to deadlines and constant delivering.
Also another issue is that Steem Inc does not accept criticism, even if the criticism comes from people who care the most. It is constructive. Stop surrounding yourself with yes sayers, they will not bring you far away or in the right direction.
Ok, now that shit hit the fan we need solutions, which mostly I don't see in your post or in 99% of the comments. I will boost this comment as I try to bring solutions from my side.
1 Relocation.
Why? Well because is expensive and seem that funds run out fast and that the US is very restrictive in terms of crypto. Wonder how SMTs will be handled on US soil.
Where? Eastern Europe but in the EU states. Examples: Romania (no income tax for devs, high internet speed, a lot of government funding available for start-ups), Estonia (very easy paper work for IT firms, high internet speed, a lot of government funding available for start-ups), Lithuania and Latvia. This are 4 countries with low cost of living, high education on IT and relative well set infrastructure.
Second tier I would Poland as it is more expensive but still a very good choice. I would definitely try to help you on this if you need it.
Third tier I would choose Zug, Switzerland for the HQ where the contacts have to be made.
Downside is that people are very direct in a good way, but some would get offended.
2 Nodes.
Baremetal nodes are needed. it is less expensive and can be upgraded on a much lower cost on the long run.
Solution: I can host a full node where I host one of my witness servers (@ro-witness), free of charge of course, as long it is helping the network.
Steem has to provide the server and we host it free of charge. Of course we sign a commitment on both sides.
3 PR
We need a different image from Steem INC, a more responsible and on the ground one. There will be no sane investor to act on the message Steem INC delivers, and it is a pity because the chain is tremendous and has so many to offer.
Solution. Speak to @steemcafe for example. That guy had so much energy in his presentation at SF3. He will give another image to Steem.
4 Planning
Sometimes I feel that Steem INC is running like a headless chicken without a plan and direction. A serious business plan needs to be present with strict deadlines. Here I can help you with that as I run an account which is higher on a yearly basis than the total market value of Steem.
So if you need help on this points and find them constructive please let me know. Also in a comment. We need solutions and actions not positive talk, lamentations or accusations at this stage.
I think your ideas are terrific. My question is with location. How would one relocate to those countries unless you had a close contact? Would it not be a trust issue?
Estonia- very easy paper work for IT firms, high internet speed, a lot of government funding available for start-ups
@alexvan I'm glad you mentioned Estonia. I was also thinking perhaps @ned could move the Steem HQ there via e-Residency. In addition, it's low cost and minimal bureaucracy. That's coming from experience. #estoniamafia
it's good news that immediately we have more capable people talking about full nodes and other solutions to keep steem and the community going (afterall i'm sure it's why we love decentralization in the first place). what's acting as the 'biggest barrier' for that 'killer app' is ned himself, but he's blaming everything else and still thinks he should be the one who's in charge of building it (when it's proven that he doesn't have the dev/sales/management/or other skills that are necessary).
communities and dapps shouldn't even be his concern. he should've focused down on providing the api and let someone else figure it out. he's always been talking about 'wisdom of the crowd' but never cared to listen. (listening to himself in an echo chamber doesn't count)
there's been many signs. to me, when he talked about whitelisting/blacklisting individuals based on his criteria of what a 'good person' is (the very fact that he used those words), i realized he was a ticking timebomb. i applaud his insight in jumping into crypto space early and creating this platform, but now it's time for him to step back.
the fact that he's the biggest stakeholder (millions and millions of steem) but chooses to sacrifice his employees instead of himself proves that he has desires to remain in control and hold on to power. it's not going to be an easy transition even if this community includes many individuals/companies that can address some of the immediate concerns.
on one hand i see steemit inc's downsizing as good news. if steemit inc, steemit.com, api.steemit.com all goes under because they can't manage the costs, it'll be an opportunity (a test rather..) for steem to move closer to decentralization. ned is the biggest barrier. he's gonna do everything in his power (except giving up his stake) to prevent someone else from leading.
if this bear market continues he might be forced to give up (might as well be the best case scenario). if the market turns around quickly, we're gonna be back to square one where he continues to be the unqualified point force, a bottleneck. another possibility is where he grows humility and realizes no single individual (including himself) is capable of creating a perfect solution. but from what we've seen so far, that's very unlikely.
What about Malta or Luxembourg (I could possibly help if it was the latter) ?
Excellent choices, (and in Luxembourg they have a bar where you can pay with STEEM, or so I heard 😀 )...
/FF
Good update, great ideas with regard to restructuring and lowering costs. I love this place and hopefully Steemmonsters will open a lot of eyes with what the Steem blockchain can do!
What destiny? Another project by ned?
The guy plays his guitar on YT live stream while everything is falling apart. First step would be that he step off CEO position. Obviously he is not suitable for the job. Probably he cached out and stashed some money and he doesn't care anymore.
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Prioritization is a must. An analysis, even if painful needs to be conducted. Not to put a blame on, just to find out where it bleeds and what actions are needed to stop bleeding.
Exactly right
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Why not engage community with STEEM rewards for contribution? Something like gitcoin. That would be good motivation at least while STEEM still has some value.
Now seams that SMT will not see the light of day too.
He had the chance to do this for ages.
In fact, until I saw the recording of the second livestream I didn't know he was that young and naive.
A livestream that should have either been on VIMM, or recorded, edited and put on DTube, you know the platforms that support Steem...
Absolutely.
Yeah, that was disappointing, when I saw that he posted at YT. :(
He's not that naive. I bet he stashed some money when market cap was half a billion.
And has turned off comments on his YouTube video. Edited: looks like they are on now.
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I can agree with most of the things you say here.
I see a big lack of listening or making research on ppl who are stuck with this project and wants it goods.
It sounds stupid, but there are not a lot of ppl outside this ecosystem who are intrested in blockchain, blogging, business management/planning(which my company is doing, but OK :P)
I offer my help, my knowledge and i think within that there would be a quite impact, also with steemschool, but I cant force ppl to take my help.
So it is a bit sad, that ppl dont take help or try everything to safe this project.
Good words! :)
I would like to thank you for your beautiful well thought out & impeccable delivery of your thoughts today. I am honored that you heard my message & felt my energy. Thank you. For you to think of me as a person who could advance Steem is amazing. Thank you again my friend. Happy Holidays & have a Joyous New Year. @alexvan. Warmest Regards, I.J.
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We spoke that afternoon on Steemfest. I loved the ideas of energizing the crowd with a song and balloons. I'm pretty sure that a least for a PR role you would be a blast. You are everywhere, on events, conferences, you promote yourself well. This is what I miss from Steem Inc. The technology and chain behind is gorgeous. Genius I would say. It is a pity that it is not sold as it is. This image leverage is missing.
You’re hired.
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I agree with @alexvan: the energy you bring is something that needs to be harboured, somehow @steemcafe.