We see another big player in the cryptocurrency world mention Steemit.
Last week, I did a post about how Richard Heart and Datadash discussed Steem in a positive light.
Now, we have someone a little higher up on the food chain.
Buterin is one of the co-founders of Ethereum and maybe the most recognized face in cryptocurrency. Any compliment from him should carry a bit of weight.
Why is this important?
It is showing how, in spite of what our limited views are, Steem is on the radar of people outside our ecosystem. While they are not rushing to get here, they are aware of what is present. To me, this means we have a nice basis to work from.
Innovation and development remain the keys. Everyone is looking for the "killer app". In fact, that is the case with many technologies. I see the same search taking place in the Virtual Reality world. That is slow to reach mainstream adoption, for a number of reasons, and many feel they are only one application away from converting the masses.
It is likely that we see cryptocurrency adoption remain evolutionary in nature for the next year or so. While many are seeking the "killer app", I feel that it will be a culmination of many different projects being offer and the steady advancement of them.
Each new user is a marketing piece, able to offer testimonial as to what is taking place here. With each new update, we see progress, one step ahead of where we were. Our success stories are building each time another block is verified. With each passing day, the network gets stronger.
This is not easy to see when growth is so incremental. I feel it is vital to keep perspective. While we all want to see 400% user growth rates, the simple truth is the entire industry is not seeing anything near that. Even Bitcoin acceptance is trudging along. The concept of cryptocurrency has not been embraced by the masses as of yet.
We do have a few things that can change that. I was able to start beta testing Communities some and it looks like a terrific addition. This will take the entire Steem ecosystem to another level. Will it be the move that takes all of this mainstream? Not likely. What it does offer is another feature that helps to segment the information that is placed on the blockchain and help with grouping of interests.
This will be a major breakthrough even if it does not, by itself, take us to the promised land.
Steemfest 4 is now over and many are returning from the event. We see a lot of posts discussing "post Steemfest letdowns". It is wonderful to see this. That tells me people are passionate about what is taking place. Physically interacting with people who are equally as excited about this platform is going to get the proverbial juices flowing. There is a level of excitement when people who are as committed to something get together.
Of course, this makes it harder to return to the solitude of the "real" world where we are disconnected from people who understand. It is now back to the family, the ones who treat us like the crazy uncle who all seek to avoid.
In Buterin's view, Steem did a "decent job". That is our baseline. The next level to reach is "good job". After that we can go after "great", only to follow it up with "sensational".
Each of us has a hand in all that is taking place. We get to decide how active we are. Are we expressing and sharing our ideas as they come to us? It is amazing, with development teams so small, how easily accepted ideas are. There are applications that are seeking input from users. Share the ideas and help move that application a bigger further down the path.
There are no magic bullets. Even SMTs, which I do believe are a game changer, will require effort and a lot of work. We will need to spread the message to any that will listen. At the end of the day, Steem is still about the people who are behind the efforts.
We all have a tremendous opportunity before us. Word will spread is we remain passionate and active.
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