Steemians: Hold Your Horses...STEEM Development is Long-Term
This post was written after reading a post the other night by @lukestokes.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@lukestokes/a-comment-reply-turned-into-a-root-post
Focusing on things such as user retention on STEEM is like worrying about the horse losing a shoe when the Autobahn is being built. The same is true for marketing and streamlining the sign up process.
None of this matters at this time. It is putting the cart before the horse.
When I first got to Lisbon for Steemfest2, I sat across from Sneak and grilled him about similar problems. His answer shocked me, and I didn't like it at all, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood it. He essentially said he doesn't care about the first million or two million users. He cares about the next 100 million users.
I am sure this quote infuriates some people. It does cut to the core, doesn't it?
The reality is that this is not uncommon for programmers. If you know anyone who does coding, especially on a for hire basis, they will tell you their clients love when a new button appears or a change in color is made on a website. They think it is wonderful even if it took 30 seconds to do. Yet, spend a week to rebuild the entire server so that the data loads more efficiently, cutting down on lag time, and they won't even notice.
Users could care less about back-end stuff until something goes wrong. I see people on here very quick to complain when the site is slow to load or when upvotes do not get processed. Hell, I am apt to do it myself. So the question is do we want the developers working to make sure that does not happen or have them spending their time changing the color scheme so was get the "wow, that's cool" factor?
We all know there are challenges when dealing with the Steemit team. At the same time, this website leaves a lot to be desired. As of now, it is a rather basic layout, one that looks more like something from the 1990s as opposed to a site in the mobile age.
It is imperative to remember that STEEM is a lot more than Steemit. Ultimately, Steemit will not be the flagship application. There are going to be many that have more users and garner more attention. Some look at that as a negative, it is not. Anything that enhances this blockchain makes the ecosystem stronger. And that should help the price of STEEM in the long run.
Realistically, markets aside, the move from 1M user accounts to 2M is not going to do much for the value of STEEM. Do you think the market will be bowled over by saying STEEM has 2M user accounts? Of course not. Do you know what will have a major impact on the price of STEEM? 100M users...if they are on a blockchain that works.
We need to look at the lessons from Ethereum and Bitcoin. They are experiencing major scaling problems. Ethereum is having to deal with this AFTER getting the traffic. That is the wrong time to start considering upgrades.
Thankfully, the Steemit team is focusing upon them BEFORE the traffic arrives.
I do not pretend to understand all the technical jargon relating to the back-end stuff. However, I do understand that they are focusing upon things that deal with load times and ensuring the network scales. In my mind, this is the proper course of action.
We are all excited about SMTs. However, what would be the point if that protocol was released yet the exchange on here could only handle the two tokens it was originally designed for?
Or what it we were able to attract a site that brought 5 million users over, only to see the transactions continually lagging because of the traffic?
No point in building the Autobahn if you are going to have potholes in it from the start. The STEEM blockchain, from a technical standpoint, has the ability to be one of the fastest ones out there (at least at the moment). Ensuring that everything else that works with it is up to par is imperative.
Yes, there are many things "wrong" with the STEEM blockchain that could use attention. However, focusing upon those items at this time is completely off base. There is a reason why a builder does not start with the roof when putting up a house. Without the foundation, nothing else matters anyway.
That is the point we are at. The cement trucks rolled in and are laying the foundation. Steemians are upset with that. Instead, they want to know what color the paint will be or what type of cabinets are going in.
Sounds ludicrous doesn't it? Yet isn't that exactly what we are doing. We are complaining about the interior of the house while the foundation is still drying.
Hopefully, some of these analogies help to drive home the point @lukestokes was making. I am not different than anyone else on here; I want some of the problems everyone discusses dealt with. However, I realize that needs to be done after the foundation is in place. If the development overlooks that stuff down the road, well shame on them. Then pulling out the pitchforks could be warranted.
At this time, though, I am happy they are focusing their attention on upgrading everything while also making this blockchain attractive for developers. Application development is the golden goose for all of us hodling STEEM.
One application that becomes popular will draw more people in than 50 marketing campaigns.
We honestly need to stop worrying about the next 3 months or 6 months. The question is where is STEEM going to be in a 3-5 years. That is the focus that I want the development team to have. Can we handle the traffic 3 years down the road so STEEM can grow and not experience what Ethereum is going through?
This is the price we pay for being early adopters. I guess if this is not accommodating, one is free to leave and come back in a couple years. That is one way to avoid the growing pains.
Personally, I realize we are sitting on a gold mine. For that reason, I can wait out the efforts that need to be done to ensure that outcome materializes.
To receive the free basic income tokens you are entitled to and help end world wide poverty, please click the following:
Pictures by Google Image
I think it's a numbers game. I'm guessing eventually we will have 10 million accounts and $1 million active users and Steem will be between $10 and $1,000. Perhaps $100? lol
I wish IPFS worked better. I think that's one of our main problems and is not a fault of the Steem blockchain other than the strain we put on it.
I agree with you 100%. Problem is that many users come to Steemit with an idea of quick earning. Steemit should be used like any other social network, for FUN. One nice addition make Steemit better than other social networks, you can earn money while having fun. If you think like that, than you are not worrying about short term things.
@cicbar You hit upon a huge point.
And one that is not the fault of the developers or Steemit. They are not the ones out there promoting the idea. In fact, they get hammered for not promoting at all.
The problem lies with all the Steemians on facebook and youtube doing the marketing of saying come to STEEM and make $15K in a day.
Those are the ones who are causing the harm on that end of things.
+1 😁
@cicbar is right. Anyone doing this just for money hasn't looked at how they might feel if they didn't really like creating a work of art, be it a blog, a painting or a video, or a song. I've been watching rock and roll documentaries on Netflix and the one thing that I see consistently happening is that the love of the craft has a better chance of winning.
Great examples include The Beatles and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Both were poor when they started. Anyone doing show business just for the money would quit long before they hit the big time. Both of those acts consisted of performers that loved what they did so much, that they could keep going until hit a success.
This is my attitude with Steemit and any other interface that I can use to write, share and get rewarded for it. I love writing. My love for writing will carry me through to success. My love for writing is the fuel I need to persevere, the low payouts, the disappointments as the case may be. I keep my expectations low and practice my craft here.
It is the love of the act of creation that is the harbinger of success on Steemit, or Busy.org, or DTube or DSound, and on and on.
It's important that someone keep driving this message home. I have nothing against EOS but all that fanfare and buzz without even a main net in place is not that great a thing in my opinion. That security hole found be the Chinese company might not be the last one to be found on EOS. Steem has been battle tested for two years now. I have more confidence in things working about on Steem.
@markkujantunen I have a wait and see attitude with EOS. I am sure it will be fine...a lot of great people working on it. However, to believe it will be without issue is not how it will go in my view. With anything new in the technological arena, there are always issues that crop up that werent planned.
EOS might be the true game changer but it will take a while to get there.
I agree. But insofar as the price at the moment reflects the hype, there could a severe correction in store if something else turns up in addition to the one already found.
To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.
Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.
I agree it is a smart approach to first work on things like scalability before releasing other things. After all, there is no use of a blockchain that can not handle everything that is happening on it.
I have a serious tendency to agree with most everything you are saying. It's hard to be first and we are definitely first. Way ahead of the curve.
I have some concerns with Steemit. I know the blockchain can scale like mad. Can the website? Are you sure?
It looks to me like memberships are held until there is a certain number then approved. They certainly aren't approved in bulk every day. The transactions at Steemit really haven't changed since the first of the year, yet sometimes it is impossible to post, comment or vote. For considerable stretches of time.
Both of those point to possible scaling problems to me. I think if the site would handle more traffic we'd have more members and the bottleneck of registration would go away.
I think if the site would scale up easily we'd have an API that would allow businesses to come to Steemit. It should be perfect for at least some businesses. It isn't, and I suspect intentionally. An API, by itself, shouldn't be that hard to write.
But for the most part you are correct. We are the pioneers, and it's our job to make a place for the cities. If you build it, they will come.
@bigtom13 I agree that there are some things that are intentional like holding down the number of sign ups approved. I think the development team is trying to make sure the system isnt overloaded.
And yes, as I mentioned, the website itself leaves a bit to be desired. There are issues with it. Will they correct it in time? If they do not, I am sure the other interefaces will completely take over (I think they might anyway). Steemit might end up being just how people sign up and after that, they move to other applications.
Believe. Me, you broke my cup of ignorance while reading this, I never thought of the next 100million users coming on board, I feel indebted to them right away while reading this post, the programmer at the coding centre, eveey click post, Upvote and comment is made possible by them.
True. The community of developers that come to Steem to build apps on the Steem Blockchain is what will give it extreme value in the future.
Only joined late December last year, but compared to the rest who still has to come, I am still an early adopter. Still pity myself that I didn't jump on the wagon sooner.
Yes, there are problems and yes we all like a beautiful decent working interface! And yes, I do hope that they are constructing or reconstructing everything under the hood, to make it future compliant! But I don't see why an app with 5 million user want to join the steem ecosystem if they do see how slow the signup process is.
At the moment it takes around 6 days to get an account approved! If they are not able to tackle this problem before the SMTs are rolled out, it will hurt the blockchain, ecosystem and more important the trust!
The biggest problem I do have with all of this, is that I can't get a clear picture where they are working on. I would like to see some more communication from @ned, @dan or @steemitblog.
Not only on the technical side, but also on the future plans.
But for the moment I will trust them, and believe that they will tackle the issues which needs to most attention and which will add the most value to the blockchain.
Cheers,
Peter
I understand completely what you're saying, and whilst I see myself as an optimist, I acknowledge that when stood next to you, I look like a pessimist.
But come on...
That's exactly why developers/programmers don't run companies, or businesses.
Yes, Steem is a non-profit and open-source, but for it to succeed in the real world - even a utopian, "blockchain changed everything" one, they must find a better balance.
To borrow from your analogy, what's the point of building the best highway, only to look up and discover everyone flying around in personal drones?
Whilst the development team have to ensure the network runs, and should make it as future-proof as possible, they also have to nurture and help build the community to use it.
The "we don't care about the first users, only about the ones who'll come later" is a poisonous attitude, and one which I, for one, hope isn't shared by everyone in the development/leadership team.
As always, great article and thanks for doing what you do :)
@m-ssed-t Valid point although we have to keep in mind that often developers operate best with a keyboard and might not excel at how things are perceived in conversation.
I dont know him at all so I wont speak on his behalf but the general overture makes sense to me. Not caring about anyone is a wrong approach in my view but I grasp his concept of a long view of things.
Overall, while it could have been worded better, I think the message makes sense. It isnt the first 1M-2M who are going to make this...it is the ability to have 100M on here.
But what if it IS the first 1 Million users who make/break it?
That should be the attitude of anybody working on any blockchain/project/start-up. You can't afford to be too future focused, or you'll be usurped by somebody else who is.
You know better than most that the tech industry is littered with projects/companies/products which should have been massive. It's not always the most deserving who make the biggest impact.
Enjoyed your article immensely.
RE: STEEM
With even a cursory investigation of cohorts' capability comparisons, it is clear that STEEM continues to stoically charge on without much fanfare.
And it should be noted that STEEM's dev team has wisely avoided the pitfalls plaguing many others in the space and hasn't succumb to the common practice of satisfying immediate gratification at the price of long term viability and value.
Yes, bling is cool and can be a symbol of personal success if, and only if, it has been rightly earned vice leased.
An old mentor of mine taught me long ago, that anything acquired on credit (or by "Crystal Ballin' it" - over-optimistic mortgaging of the unpredictable future) loses its luster very quickly.
Thanks for the insightful post.
Namaste, JaiChai