Maybe You've Heard
There's a newSTEEM in town.
Kind of like the old one pretended to be, but real this time. Renewed, refreshed, filled with purpose and direction. Done with the past and ready to carry the present into the future.
Or something like that. I'm afraid I'm not down with the newSTEEM vernacular, other than it seems more positive in nature with somewhat of a kick tail and take names kind of edge. Or not. I could be misinterpreting all of that.
What I do get out of STEEM, and always have, is that STEEM is what you make of it.
Getting Onboard
To date, there are those who have been making STEEM their personal ROI extraction. According to them, they're doing this because the reward system is broken. Thus, those needing a better ROI lack incentives to do what they really want to do, which is use STEEM as it was originally intended.
So, they've finally convinced enough people in high places to make the changes they require to do what's best for STEEM. These changes are forthcoming as the Economic Improvement Proposal (EIP), and are part of Hardfork 21.
After voicing my concerns about it (frankly, I still have them), and after trying to turn the discussion from social media STEEM to STEEM commerce (still going to keep doing that), I've come to the conclusion, after reading 
The reason is, in the newSTEEM I see, a marketing campaign begets an attitude that becomes a culture. And I'm very much looking forward to that.
Here's what I mean.
Walk The Walk
We've been told something needs to change and that some change, even if it doesn't help or makes things worse, is better than no change at all. The potential benefits far outweigh the downside because it can be mitigated, presumably through more tweaking of the math.
So be it. In the newSTEEM, it's time to get on board with the Wizards of Smart and let them put their money where their mouth is. Let them keep their promises. Let them show us just how good they are, in all departments. In brains, and in doing what's best for STEEM.
More Inclusion
In this newSTEEM, all are welcome. Maybe you're not a creator, but you can curate. Most economies have more consumers than they have producers, anyway. STEEM has kind of been backwards in that department. More of those who don't feel like they're creators can feel more comfortable consuming and be incentivized to do it. Including those higher SP accounts. In fact, they will be central to making this newSTEEM, a STEEM they've largely proposed, work.
It will require all hands on deck, finding their niche, and pushing/pulling things along.
I look forward to people being able to find their way, aided by those who have already found it and now have the will to do so because they have the financial backbone they've been asking for.
More Diversity
Old STEEM was pretty stale. A lot of crypto, a lot of sniping, and let's face it, too narcissistic. So many posts referring to STEEM. NewSTEEM, in my mind, has all topics with more curators willing to reward them. Not just a select few.
That's because those shaping this newSTEEM realize that the mainstream masses aren't so interested in the intricacies of reward curve refinement as they are in whatever it is they find interesting or important. That means there will be more subjects to talk about that go beyond STEEM, crytpo, how best to code this or gamify that, and whether or not the next hardfork will be good or bad for STEEM.
The newSTEEM will be less self-referential and more representative of what the whole wide world has to offer.
And those behind this newSTEEM economy will fulfill their promises by helping to support these posts as they come.
Better Visibility
Alas, there will be those who just can't get onboard with the newSTEEM. They will hold onto the past, or not believe it until they see it. That's okay. In the meantime, while the newSTEEM economy continues to form, that means increased visibility for posts by those who keep putting their ideas and talents out there. As more STEEM users shift away from creating to curation, that will mean less competition for eyes and upvotes and more curators to catch them.
Then, as those creators who chose to leave see that there is an improvement, that the creators of the newSTEEM economy are fulfilling their promises, perhaps they will come back, and the community will be able to support them, too.
Greater Investment
This newSTEEM is designed to spark new investment interest. The deep pockets are supposed to finally show up because they will see STEEM leaving it's troubled past behind and moving boldly forward. They will see STEEM as something they want to be a part of, something, quite frankly, they can't miss out on.
More investment is supposed to be good for all us. STEEM rises when investments pour in. We want that, and in the newSTEEM we get it, because the creators of the newSTEEM economy will get us there.
Better Development
In the newSTEEM, developers finally have the tools and the incentives they need to create cutting edge apps for users. The STEEM Proposal System will allow anyone with an idea to get backing for their projects, but they will be in competition with other projects, too, so they won't be able to be half-baked or mediocre versions of existing social media/internet sites. They will have to be innovative, more interactive, more aesthetically pleasing, more intuitive, and more fun than anything that has come before it.
Developers in the newSTEEM won't be able to get by with a wing and a prayer. They'll need to have a solid plan to begin with, be able to adjust on the fly, have an eye for detail, an ear for community input, and a vision for the future. And they'll need to be totally devoted to STEEM, or at least supportive of STEEM if they want to go multi-chain or create their own at some point. They won't leave STEEM and their supporters high and dry when they find supposedly greener grass somewhere. That's the old STEEM. NewSTEEM is the greener grass—no one wants to leave it. They want to be it.
Less Bot Use, Less Self-Votes, Less Circle Voting, Less Alt Accounts, Less Spam/Scam, Less Abuse In General
The end result, or byproduct perhaps, is that all of these workarounds people have employed over the years to extract a reasonable ROI will be no longer economically attractive. So, bots, self-upvotes, circle voting, splitting stake into dozens of accounts, and spam/scam farming will be left in the past with Old STEEM. NewSTEEM may still have all of these things, but as time goes by, there will be less desire to use them because the economics will make posting and curating more satisfying all around.
This I believe, is the best case scenario for everyone. Bot owners won't have to defend their livelihoods and bot users will find that they're being rewarded without bots. They will both move on to what makes the most business sense. Self-upvoters won't feel the need to look inward anymore. Those who have fallen into a voting circle will want to branch out and discover and be a part of an assortment of talent and topics. Stakeholders will find it best to consolidate their accounts, and the scammers and spammers, well, if the oxygen wasn't taken away from them with the change to RCs, the EIP probably will. Regardless, there will be much less of that, as maybe even some of them will want to get onboard newSTEEM.
It should be noted that many of those who are participants in some or all of the above are advocates of the EIP and what is becoming the newSTEEM, so they have extra incentive to move the new economy forward, to prove that they could see what was needed and fulfill their promises. They will do it for the good of all STEEM.
Onward And Upward
That's the newSTEEM I see. One where promises are fulfilled. Where more is given than extracted. Where more is received. Where there's greater distribution, greater incentives to stake, and greater value because of it. STEEM rises. Investment pours in. The masses flock to it.
The promises have been made. The math will soon be locked in. The better, brighter future awaits.
Welcome to the newSTEEM.
Image source—Pixabay