One thing that is great on Steemit is the freedom and a big part of that is the ability to be anonymous. There are many reasons that one may want to remain anonymous but I think for many, it is for tax purposes more than any threat from persecution. Much of the cryptocurrency world is anonymous as after all, it is part of the reason the blockchain was invented. Anyone found Satoshi yet?
If we imagine for a moment that it is in fact possible to remain anonymous in the long term and there won't be AIs capable of trawling data for identification purposes, is this what is best for Steemit? This is a social platform isn't it?
What I wonder is if mass adoption is being slowed by an unwillingness by users to reveal themselves publicly. Does it make it difficult for the average potential user to trust that Steemit and Steem is an above board platform when 90 percent of accounts are unwilling to show their face?
This is not a criticism of those that do not reveal their identities and if I had known more before joining, I might be a cartoon character too, maybe Astro Boy. This is just a question if it makes it difficult to trust the platform enough to join.
Considering there is currency involved and the reputation of crypto as being the preferred choice for drug dealers, gun runners and human traffickers (according to the news), does a social platform with very few human faces present to a non-crypto market a safe environment to share?
There are also other things to consider as the Steem blockchain grows and that is the attraction of investors large and small. Are you ready to hand your hard earned fiat over to people who you have never seen and do not know their real names?
Having currency attached to the platform makes it fundamentally different to a place like Twitter where egg-faced profiles troll and shill. It should make it more professional in nature as there is incentive to behave well yet, this doesn't always happen. Would this be different if people's accounts were tied to their real life? Would there be as many spammers, scammers and plagiarists?
As said, there are many reasons to remain anonymous but, most users here have other social accounts where they are not anonymous. An anonymous Facebook profile is a little useless really except for, well, those who are scamming in one way or another. This is the same for Instagram and Twitter where the most successful accounts are generally those who have a human face.
the world of crypto is largely a cloak and dagger industry where anonymity adds to the mystery but for a social platform looking to bring more than the traditional crypto community into the folds, is it detrimental?
And then, after potentially slowing down the integration of new users, it is highly unlikely that anonymity will remain in to the future anyway. Even for those that want to hide, the truth has an uncanny way of being brought to light in time. But, even more likely than being found is the desire to eventually reveal oneself.
For many here, there is a lot of future opportunity in developing businesses on the Steem blockchain but unless human nature changes considerably, they will be unable to open many doors without revealing themselves to someone eventually. And, once one reveal has been made, all of the digital precautions in the world are now redundant.
I have struggled to understand why so few people are willing to join and then struggle to understand why so many struggle. But, if you notice the accounts that do the best here from a rewards perspective, they are often one of two things. Either, early adopters who can remain hidden if they choose or, accounts that have come in and have a real face to them.
Is there benefit to being known, to having a face, to putting more skin in the game? Will it help people trust the platform when they see real people in the community? What are the risks of doing so? To go legit must we be willing to risk ourselves?
What if you revealed your identity?
This is a post for discussion purposes so hopefully people will bring in different perspectives and think about both sides of the coin instead of just the one they are currently on.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]