Over the last almost 2 years, I have visualized and written about Steem being like a city under construction, one that has a process order but in time will be able to support a great deal of variety of citizen once the infrastructure is in place. But, once the infrastructure is in place, that is not the case currently but we are slowly getting there.
If we were actually going to do a ground up build of a city and we had a pool of resources to allocate to construction, what professionals would get the lions share of value? Singers? Doctors? No of course not, engineers and construction developers most likely would be the only ones on site and those who are able to lay the foundations but as the cite takes shape, citizens move in and more and more services and therefore skillsets are needed and supported.
In time, a location can go from earth to a bustling metropolis with a rich array of cultures, sub-cultures and fringe societies that mix and intermingle into a melting pot of possibility. As it runs through its life cycles and trends, there is the continual need for many types of talents and the demands of the citizens will drive both talent support and infrastructure growth. As the tastes change, so do the services required and in so doing, tastes will change again.
For me, I find this visualization of Steem useful for a number of reasons as it allows me to get a type of road map of the ecosystem, something mentally concrete so to speak but, each of us could have different ways to view it. If we only view it from our own perspective and what is suitable for us in the moment however, we omit a large amount of what else the city needs to survive. I have said before, this city isn't ready for everyone yet.
I was reading an article written by @lemony-cricket about the space and people of steem and it got me thinking about the attrition rate (many call churn rate) of Steem. What would be an interesting metric to see is, how many developers (@lemony-cricket is a developer) are part of that churn rate? If we were able to get a cross-section by niche, is the rate of loss the same across all sub-groups or, are some groups more likely to be here long term despite the space not being ready?
I think this would be difficult to ever know but, from my experience and observational view, the developers, the data divers, the infrastructure builders and the experienced crypto enthusiasts are largely still here doing what they do. They are still bullish on Steem and are still investing their time and effort into development of the city which could be driven by their current support benefits but, is also likely they believe that they are able to solve the infrastructure challenges and make it work for the future.
@lemony-cricket mentioned that due to construction phase and all the trials, troubles, ups and downs that has got us to today, the attrition rate has removed those who have not been suitable for the place in its current form. To quote Lem:
So, I am left to wonder... are we a different breed here? Has this platform naturally selected for intelligent, strong-willed individuals? Is that why I find so many of the people I meet here to be the most interesting humans I've ever met?
I would say yet but I would also add that those who have left aren't not intelligent, but they weren't necessarily suited to the space at that time whether from a skill or will perspective. I have been here a long time in Steem years and again through observation I mentioned to Lem in comment;
The ones who survive here the best have been the versatile ones on average who are not dependent on one or two niches or feedback loops.
Why the people here are likely so interesting is that they are more likely more complex personalities that are less bound by their skillset and more unbounded in their interest areas and experience. At the moment, I really enjoy this place and have done for the last almost 2 years
Currently, the space is prime for developers to do what they do but for those who are not that kind of builder, it requires an attitude and skillset that is not tied exclusively to a specific niche, especially if it is one that is not yet consistently supported by the ecosystem. Those who are expecting to do what they love doing and get what they want out of Steem are going to be disappointed continually if there isn't the audience available for their work.
For me personally, my content topics and material have changed somewhat over time and even though I indulge in the things I love too, I have shifted content focus to a more Steem-centric perspective. This has been suitable for me as my content is behavior and community interaction based anyway. I have noticed quite a few who started off in one domain spreading successfully out into others as they realised that in order to survive the Steem crush, it takes a variety of content and a wider support base than most niches can provide.
This is evidence of adapting to the environment to survive (which is a definition of intelligence) and be a part of the overall design and direction of the platform. What I love to see is comments from artists and poets on the posts of developers offering their views of future infrastructure design that doesn't just serve their niche, but the community as a whole. These people are part of the weight that makes Steem so valuable and will help devs better create the infrastructure for future communities and talent groupings.
It is these types of versatile personalities that @lemony-cricket speaks of, the ones he can have the most interesting conversations with as they are able to discuss their skill area, have a view on infrastructure needs or Steem economics without having to be solely self-serving in their approach. What these people have learned to be are renaissance players, multi-skilled, multi-faceted and seasoned veterans who have made it through running the Steem gauntlet. Throw that in with the dynamics, complexities and myriad possibilities of Steem and, of course they are interesting.
For those who have made it this far and those who will make it a bit further until mainstreaming, these times and people connected with are going to have a somewhat shared experience that no new user will ever be able to truly understand. While users will be able to come in and perform in their chosen domains, the Steem veterans will have a subset culture each with talents that are more Da Vinci. Developers, artists, scientists, researchers and economists all rolled into one.
Even though each of us still have our preferred niche material and topics, by necessity many of us have been forced into becoming Steem generalists that dip our toes, fingers, noses and other extremities into places we never expected to put ourselves. This is a massive advantage in experience that we are yet to fully realize the importance or potential of in the community. The time will come though.
Although stake is the technical influence of the platform, what is actually the largest driver is social network and interaction that influences the stake to place its markers. The network effect of where with whom we spend our time matters as it is through these relationships that we are able to discuss and affect each other as well as build the bands of community that can drive change and development.
All of these dynamics of how we interact and learn as well as all of the tools we have and are developing combined with a diverse range of culture, perspective, experience held in engaged and active people leads to an ecosystem and community that could just have the highest average of interesting people in the world within it. At the very least, it has proven itself time and time again as a great place to have all kinds of discussions in an open and generally civil manner.
I closed my comment to Lem with a realisation that is either poignant or sad;
In some way, despite all the disagreements and challenges, these are my type of people.
At some point, all of the infrastructure and moving parts will fall into place and the city will truly be open for business and much of what it currently is and who we currently are will be scattered to the winds. These are the golden times of the future that those who survived will look back on with reverence and a little bit of longing.
The city may grow incredibly fast and large but, stay in touch.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]