I have seen many ICOs come and go. From TKN to Bancor, our small den of the internet is a spectacle during these times of high emotion. Fear, stress, anxiety and above all, exuberance. It's a whirlwind of emotions. And seeing the network congested, wallets unresponsive or etherscan crash, it only adds to the chaotic madness.
However, watching an ICO is nothing like participating in one. It's easy to sit-back and scoff at the difficulties faced during an ICO, while contemplating whether this craze over 1s and 0s is all worth it. But once a project seriously captivates your interest - there is no turning back. You will be one of them... and I was!
The role of STEEMIT.COM in the due diligence process
I've been involved in the crypto scene for close to 5 years now. I refuse to invest (my time, money or otherwise) in any project without first doing my due diligence. And this is where I am rapidly noticing something new: the role of STEEMIT.COM in the research process.
Steemit is quickly becoming my go-to source for quickly understanding the fundamentals of a coin before voyaging out to the white paper, BTCtalk page and other news sites. The high quality posts on steemit are quickly reflecting the heart of its purpose - to incentivise content creators.
Quickly we are seeing the role of incentivisation in promoting high quality and well-thought articles. Never did I anticipate that these words would leave my mouth, "check steemit posts on [insert topic/crypto]". It is solidifying itself, at least in my mind, as a repository of valuable information.
While steemit has its roots in our crypto community, people will quickly see this value proposition as, either, content creators or consumers. Many of whom will start as the latter (as I did).
If I could summarise it in a comparison, it would be this: steemit is to places like reddit, what Quora is to Yahoo Answers (can I use that?)
Why STATUS.IM was different
This may sound trite to say but in this undeveloped 'market' of cryptocurrencies, having ANYTHING to show prior to an ICO is a HUGE deal.
While most are sold on lavish promises of "changing the world", having something (anything) I could actually see and use was instrumental in signing my fate to the ICO madness. I could actually see the value in the technology they were offering. It offered a solution - accessing dapps via mobile. Most of all, it demonstrated that it was possible.
This is in addition to the active developers on their slack channel. However, most projects come with this feature. Now, that's not to say it is not important but it means so much more when they have actually created something.
Stick to your guns!
There were 3 (x 10) times I reconsidered investing in this ICO. From reading posts claiming it is a worldwide heist, to over-exaggerated posts claiming it will bring in a new age. It made me realise one VERY IMPORTANT principle: STICK TO YOUR GUNS!
If you have done your research and believe in the fundamentals (team, project, partnerships and promise) of a crypto, then let all baseless comments stand as noise in the rock concert that is an ICO.