Hello Steem community,
My name is Federico Pistono. I'm a best-selling author, speaker, AI researcher, and Internet Creator.
Two months ago I wrote my first post on Steem, where I shared my book "Robots Will Steal Your Job, but That's OK" for free and published the first chapter in its entirety.
Since then I've been writing more posts, and before I decide whether to continue, I thought I'd give you my two cents as a creator and crypto-enthusiast, as I believe now Steem might be at a turning point.
These are just some personal thoughts and opinions. Nobody, contrary to what one might believe, can predict the future.
That being said, I've been playing with cryptos for many years, it was way back in 2010 when I first approached Bitcoin, and I've been around the block long enough to notice some familiar patterns. So here are my thoughts and suggestions on how Steem could become the new driving force for internet creation in the world, or how it could burst like a bubble and die a horrible death.
How Steem could go be the next big thing
I run a website called Konoz, where hundreds of creators (EduTubers) organize their YouTube videos into courses and can run crowdfunding campaigns to support their channels by receiving donations from their fans. It's like a blend of Patreon and Khan Academy.
Here's is what my profile looks like on Konoz:
To give some perspective, during the same amount of time (in 2016) I made about $30 on YouTube. Really, no comparison.
And here's my profile on Steem:
As a creator, this is encouraging
Within two month, four posts on Steem made almost 50% of what I received in over seven months on Konoz, and almost 60 times what I made on YouTube. All this was done at no cost to my fans and readers, and without annoying ads.
Now, I am considering using Steem as a platform for publishing my posts with continuity, maybe even making original Steem content. Last week I was at VidCon, where every year I meet with internet superstars like Hank Green (VlogBrothers), Kevin (Vsauce 2), and Henry Reich (MinutePhysics), who have millions of subscribers and create truly amazing content.
And I'm also considering sharing Steem with other internet creators, who may decide to come here and join the community. Except...
How Steem Could Die, Part 1
I log into Steem's homepage today and this is what I see.
As a creator, this is not very encouraging. This is shit.
Almost every trending post is from a cute girl showing her cleavage. Ironically, the post at the bottom is from a guy making an inside joke reflecting this very bias of the Steem community. Here's a few tips:
You get what you reward
If you use your STEEM POWER to upvote pictures of cute girls and enthusiastic Steem fanboys, then that's exactly the type of "creators" you'll see.
Lesson 1: if you want Steem to be successful, upvote high-quality, original content from creators who put effort in making it
That's it, really. All the problems with the editor, the missing features, the confusion about STEEM, STEEM POWER, STEEM Dollars and all the rest can be overcome. It's just a matter of time. But if quality creators are missing, Steem will die and disappear before you can cash out any of your rewards.
Speaking of rewards, this brings me to:
How Steem Could Die, Part 2
STEEM is growing. Like CRAZY.
In fact, since I started writing this post and made a screenshot, the price of Steem has already increased 30%. Just today it went up almost 300%
This is great news, and it is also terrible news. I've seen this before, many times.
For the newbies, here's a historical chart of the infamous AuroraCoin, which made a huge splash back in the day and was supposed to be the "next big thing". It was created as an alternative currency to address the government restrictions on Iceland's króna, and it intended to be the new currency for Icelanders. In just a few days it went up over 1,000%, shooting at a whopping $90 per coin.
A few days later? It dropped to almost zero, and it never recovered ever since.
Lesson 2: pump and dump will kill Steem. You need a key market differentiator.
There are so many projects and cryptocurrencies out there that you can only hope to survive if you have something that makes you different, something that makes you stand out.
For Steem, it seems pretty clear to me what the key differentiator is: the mix of content, community, and rewards system.
You have a reward system
It still needs (a lot of) adjustments, but it's there.
You are building a community
It's growing organically and nicely.
You don't have great content (yet)
Content is king. If you don't fix it, you'll be the next AuroraCoin, Flattr, and Diaspora. Great ideas that died quickly.
Putting actions to my words, what I'm doing for the Steem community
So far I posted four things on Steem:
- The first chapter of my book, which was an international success translated in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, German, Portuguese and Italian.
- A paper on Artificial Intelligence co-authored by Prof. Roman Yampolskiy, a leading authority in the field, and the first scientific publication officially posted on Steem
- An essay on Mathematics, Art, and Patterns
- A conversation with crypto legend Ralph Merkle on DAOs, Democracy and Governance
If you want to make Steem the next big thing and not yet another failed project, post and upvote great content.
You get what you reward.
It's now a turning point for Steem.
Your choice will determine its future.
Choose wisely.
Do you like what I write? Consider upvoting this post on Steem :)
Where to find me: