Steemit should be separated into two sections. The first section should be dedicated for blogging while the second for image creation. Steemblog should remain as close to Reddit while Steemview could be built along the lines of Imgur. Eventually one might win over the other but both will stay around. Here is why I think an image based content function might be a powerful addition:
Reason 1 : People are generally lazy
Humans focus on quick rewards with the least amount of effort. Really that’s it.
Reason 2 : Curation rewards reinforce timing rather than reading
So far the architecture of Steemit is based more on blogging. Blogging requires reading. The new generation focuses more on viewing and less on reading. When you have an incentive to hit the post at 15-30 minutes in order to get the maximum curation reward, you don’t really give a shit about reading the content.
So far I’ve written many articles and I barely saw any objective analysis in the comments. I observe the same thing when I am curating. You can tell that people are lazy and just brush through content in order to leave a barely relevant comment. If the Steemview clone is added people won’t have to be forced into reading content. I am actually baffled why Steemit didn’t initially start with the image based model rather than the article based model.
Reason 3 : More, way more traffic
Take a look around in the social media ecosystem. Take a look even here on Steemit when people post .gifs or memes. We are visual suckers. Reading is a human invention aimed for communication. On the other hand viewing is a default physiological function. Guess which one wins the marketing race.
Memes and photographs spread like herpes. Why? Well, it’s easy. Anyone can do it. For the average user writing an article in Steemit is like rocket science. We need to accept this reality and stop trying to educate people how to operate Steemit. Also, virality. Images go viral. Articles rarely do so. Why? See Reason 1.
Another massive reason is that images and memes are international means of communication. This is probably the most powerful reason for adopting an image model. It would make Steemit explode to the moons of Jupiter.
Reason 4 : Better curation
It is much easier to browse through images and objectively upvote content. Curation is more fun and the rewards can be dispersed much better even for whales. Right now curating through Steemit is painful. The reward mechanism takes away the fun from reading. You can tell that people are just upvoting what’s popular and not really what they like. The result is an overall sub-par content in an embarrassing jerking circle. Once a whale votes something, the scene resembles prostitutes fighting for pennies. New users are not actually attracted to this shady behaviour.
Reason 5 : Steem Price
As we speak the inflationary rate of Steem grows faster than the Zimbabwen trillion dollar bill. We need an extra incentive for people to invest on Steem Power and actually salvage the ill economic model that has more holes than a strainer
I am up for more suggestions and anyone who wants to advance this idea. If this is not done by us, someone else will do it sooner than you think.
