HERE’S WHAT PROBABLY HAPPENED:
@ned one day thought, “Hmmmm. This Steemit thing is going very well. Our plan to cryptify the world’s economy is underway. The problem is, as we get bigger, we run the risk of pissing off too many people (governments and large corporations who might feel threatened by our growth), and we could run into some serious obstacles. Whatever shall we do?”
So, @ned came up with a plan that would take the pressure off his new blockchain, allow large online corporations to move things forward alongside him, and change the cryptocurrency scene together--by sheer weight alone.
Enter Smart Media Tokens (SMT)
Using Smart Media Tokens, ordinary websites have the capacity to do the same thing Steemit does: reward users monetarily for participation on the platform (such as writing good content, voting well, commenting often, participating in campaigns, rating products, bringing new users to the site, etc.). This incentive increases interest and grows the user base, which in turn grows the value of the company, which increases the reward pool, which allows for more reward to the community, which grows the user base, and so on.
Saith the White Paper:
With SMTs, any website or content library across the internet may have one or more tokens integrated into its interface to facilitate fundraising and autonomous growth.
Think about it, online giants like Youtube, Facebook, Amazon, New York Times, Reddit, Medium, Twitter, and any other entity for that matter could reward their OWN communities and grow a cryptocurrency pool just like Steemit does. Only they won’t be Steemit. They will be themselves. They would just be using a Steem-based token, customized for their own needs.
These external entities will sign up through a Steem service basically the same way you and I did. They’ll get one or more Steem coins, just as you and I did. But the coin will be referred to as a Smart Media Token, and it will be catered to their own website and useful only on their own website. And because the token is linked to Steem, it will increase the value of Steem as it increases in value. Because it is essentially a steem coin.
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
But how do “one or more tokens” turn into something of value?
Enter Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in cryptocurrency terms is the same thing as an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in ordinary business terms, which is when a company goes public and investors and enthusiasts buy shares of the company with their own money. An ICO works just like a “Go Fund Me” project, or a crowdfunding campaign, where a company needs to raise a certain amount of money, by a certain time, for a certain kind of project, and supporters offer their own funds in order to help the company achieve its goals.
If the initial amount raised does not meet the specified amount by the specified time, the money will be returned to investors. If the money raised DOES meet (or exceed) the specified requirements, then it will be put to use and the company will be able to work toward its goals, while (hopefully) giving supporters a return on their investment.
In this case, the project would be something along the lines of raising money to put toward the value of the SMT they just signed up for so they can begin rewarding their user base and increase the value of the tokens.
WANT TO SHARE?
When a cryptocurrency launches, the value increases with the demand. It operates the same as a “share.” This particular model of blockchain cryptocurrency, interlaced with a social media platform, has been tried and true for a year and a half with Steemit by the time SMT showed up. User-driven requests and changes are constantly being incorporated into the Steemit platform to iron out glitches and accommodate as many scenarios as possible.
As more and more online companies adopt this model and are happy with it, any opposition that does come will have to go through them first.
It’s a win-win for everyone.
Says Ned:
“I don’t want to continue just to do Steemit.com and continue just getting ahead of everybody else. I actually want other people to show up and start doing the same thing because this has to be an internet-wide revolution. Not just a single site. We need everybody to have the power to do this. Smart Media Tokens is my solution to that. We’re basically taking something that we’ve already built to be successful, and we’re expanding it to make everybody else successful too.”
SBD V. SMT
They are essentially the same thing, but SBD are Steem coins used WITHIN the Steemit platform, while SMT are Steem coins used OUTSIDE the Steemit platform. Both currenies enhance the Steemit platform. Both currencies improve the chances of success for cryptocurrency everywhere.
It’s quite clever, really. And frankly, a logical next move. Basically, Steem Dollars had a baby! And it’s called Smart Media Tokens. Isn’t it cute!
*All images are royalty free from pixabay.com. Except for this baby picture, which is ubiquitous. And while we're on the subject, pixabay.com should sign up for SMT. They could reward their photographers for photos, for voting on one another, and for making top pick, etc. It's high time they sign up. We use their content on here all the time. They can't not know about us.
