Nobody Can Sign Up to Steemit.com Right Now and Why It's AWESOME! (Really Awesome)
by @cryptoctopus
Yesterday, because of the impressive amount of people sign ups, steemit decided to closed it's door and have this whenever someone is trying to sign up:
Many people may think that it is a terrible thing that could harm the growth of the community. I, on the other hand...I'm doing the happy dance! Let me explain...
In a very early article I wrote about Pinterest growth hacking strategy, I exposed one of the best strategy ever used for a new and budding social media platform. To this day, Pinterest was the fastest growing social media platform to launch.
The "Private Club" Effect
Do you remember when you couldn't simply "sign in" to Pinterest but had to request an invitation? That was brilliant. I know it sounds completely counter-intuitive but bear with me. Why would a platform that intend on world domination would want to make itself exclusive?
Because early adopters are driven by three main motivations: INFORMATION, NOVELTY, AND STATUS
You have to consider that we are not at the stage of marketing to the whole world. We are after the "innovators" and the "early adopters". This group of people respond to very different emotional triggers than the masses. Scarcity is one of the best growth hacking strategy to increase the perceived value on a product or service.
It's The VIP Effect.
Controlled Growth
So by having a "under invitation only", Steemit is on the bleeding edge of technology and cryptocurrency. There are people out there who do not want it to succeed...a behaviour that is unfortunately too frequent. Steemit is a big threat to other cryptocurrencies because it could literally make it mainstream where the others couldn't. What is most important right now above all other functions is security of funds...everything else needs to wait.
The mainstream user cannot bear to have their funds stolen at any time. It would be disastrous if it were to occur later on when there are millions of users online.
Double Whammy
By controlling the inflow of new users, collect emails and put the platform under invitation only; steemit is poised to create a craze like we've never seen before! The honey pot is too big and the access to it is restricted!
If this process is done right, it's the best marketing strategy steemit can employ to create a stampede of users like we've never seen before.
On that...I'm leaving you with a happy dance.
All of us who got here just a few weeks later than we wish we had gotten here can breathe a little sigh of relief. We're minnows today but we're still here on the ground floor of opportunity.
From one minnow to the rest: if you're here for the right reasons take this 'time out' as an opportunity. Make sure you're focused on adding value as opposed to seeing how many pennies you can collect. There are probably dozens of good ways for us as a community to use what the founders have built, many of which haven't been dreamed up yet.
Start dreaming, share your dreams in well written posts, vote for value when you see it, add comments to streams worthy of further discussion, have fun.
Very nice reply, I really believe in what you are saying and I am amazed at the maturity of the comment section, it's staggering. For once I feel like my brain isn't shrinking using the internet.
Yes, what you said. I just now read your comment. :)
inspiring!!!
Would love to see invites handed over in handfuls to Steemers so we can get them into the hands of people like us or who have similar interests to us, so we can grow our communities based on what we'd like to see.
I posted a similar comment before I saw yours. Just upvoted THIS.
I've upvoted for sharing information on this news. Thanks, I'm busy trying to sign up people and wouldn't have known that they cannot do it.
However I'm wary of this approach. Unlike Pinterest, potential new sign ups are missing out financially by being excluded. This could cause resentment if it's a deliberate ploy. The door could be left ajar for a competitor to exploit.
I hope it's a precaution... or a very temporary ploy to drum up a bit of hype.
I think security is first concern here. Having to reimburse 100,000 people stolen founds would kill the business. But when it's ready to re-open, I think we should consider having the "friends invite" function added to increase the virality of this baby. Keep it under invitation only BUT allow everyone that is in the invite.
If that's the case, I think it should be communicated as a security precaution rather than a"private members club." Certain voting behaviours are already beginning to foster a feeling of "insiders" and "outsiders"... this step could exacerbate that.
Having someone that can vouch for a new member may work as it should raise the quality of content. However even that won't legislate against hackers/lax passwods etc.
that would not be a wise on the branding and marketing side. Message it has invitation only and then move forward as invitation only too. They need to control the growth of it and putting a dampener is wise at this point. It's not a lie to say that it's under invitation only when it is. I use "private membership" term to illustrate a phenomenon that people will experience by being invited.
An affiliate link would be fantastic to piggypack from future whales. If I can push a link to someone famous that I want to see on Steemit, then boom, I can actually start changing my kids life.
Financially motivated folks won't do as well as those who really want to offer something valuable to the community. Just because you can sign up does not guarantee monetary rewards other than voting. Maybe they can take this break and use it as a time to hone their crafts ?
Is there anything to suggest "they" need to hone their craft any more than those of us who have had the good fortune of finding Steemit early?
I meant that they can be getting their blogs ready to post when they join. We are all always honing our crafts.
My guess is there have been quite a few security enhancements i.e. thresholds to how many upvotes per hour, etc to make it more difficult for the bots & spammers.
that's a great guess!
finally i was afraid there will be no end to new sign ups, actually was afraid of millions new bloggers that would slim my chances of blog being visible.
Yes, we are the lucky ones
They will re-enable registrations but in a more controlled way. In the meantime they need more time to make the Steemit more stable for the people already using it 24/7. Remember those 500 Page Errors that drove page refresh frenzies? I haven't seen them that much once the new user flocking has stopped.
Here's to the crazy ones!!
I can feel a relief now. No i actually im feeling special being one of few who got a chance to come here!
Well, I feel like my blogs are already invisible. hahahaha
I thought I was the only one who had this crippling fear.
Really good job
EXACTLY what I was thinking!
Well that's a greedy way to look at it, kinda.
Well... that's inevitable anyways, isn't it? Wait until there's 30 million Steemers and corporate whales show up.
Wow. I'm ecstatic. I feel part of a special club....Despite the enormous amount of time I spend online, I've never beta tested a platform before. Steemit is just ticking all boxes for me...
The waiting list is a great tactic to create virality. Thanks for the observation. I ddnt even know signups have been paused.
i didn't know either. was shocked to hear this.
Myself, I told my significant other, my family, and close friends to get on Steemit several days ago. Some did, but my partner texted me at the office this morning to tell me he tried but it wasnt accepting sign ups. It felt kind of amazing to know that my intuition about the importance of this platform was right. I bet they listen next time the door opens and new accounts can be created ;)
This is our chance to help use the platform so we can keep uncovering any issues, keep creating awesome Steemit tools, and get the rocket ready for some more guests.
And, of course, to keep the good unique content coming and the conversations flowing.
Cheers everyone, I'm glad to be a part of this experience
Agreed @prufarchy @jsteck @btcbtcbtc20155 @logicwins this is by far the greatest social media platform I have ever used. There are things that need tweaking but that is the responsibility we hold as testers.
The exclusionary aspect and already strong community may be just the push needed to make this amazing beta into the best forum for original content and self-sustaining independent media. I have already seen self-policing members responding to posts by catfish, scammers, and plagiarists with good intentions and the determination necessary to keep those only interested in financial gain downvoted (alongside apologies when folks have been mistaken because we are only human and full of error). I personally am glad to be a member that produces her own material or sources news I feel others may enjoy (with disclaimers about the reposting factor, of course).
Thanks for all the genuine support and dialogue,
Truly,
H
Not a bad idea, hope they're also gonna give some steems to those who signed up early.
I just did by upvoting you :-)
Hey....share the love man.lol
Thanks for the LOVE. Hope I didn't come across like this guy:
you forgot to write "Steemit 07-20-2016" xDD
No you come accross worse.
Holy crap, you have valuable upvotes!
Thanx cryptoctopus!!
Doin the same since I stumbled in here
Here, have my two cents. (Literally, lol)
Me too!
Ever since I joined Steem, I have lost my interest in other social media. In fact, I just get slightly mad when I think how much money I have made the shareholders of those companies when I have created so much content for them. Steem means I own and can monetize my own content.
Even though the platform is not developed out much yet, I am using it to replace instagram for my drone photos and blogging. It is such a great platform.
It really is.
This is literally like the episode of South Park where cartman buys a theme park. I LOVE IT
Wow happy I joined over the weekend. <3