When Are SMTs Coming? Let It Be Soon Or It May Become A Race With EOS!

I LOVE Steemit and I love the Steem Blockchain. This is the furthest thing from FUD, so don't misinterpret. :) It is a call-to-action to the Steemit Team, because I know we will get to where we need to be, but I just want to emphasize that we also need to get there FAST ENOUGH. Ned recently released an article (https://steemit.com/steemit/@steemitblog/steemit-winter-update-2017-reflection-our-vision-statement-and-mission-and-a-look-forward) pointing out that some of the things they would do differently than 2017 would be making sure that timelines are meant. He also listed the coming innovations/features being implemented within Steem and the following paragraph was included in the 'what's coming in 2018' section:

"Right now, our top priorities are blockchain scalability (AppBase), Communities (Hivemind), effortless onboarding (sign up + Hardfork 20), and Smart Media Tokens (SMTs). So much progress has already been made, and we are working around the clock to deliver them as soon as we can."

So, I found it odd that Smart Media Tokens were listed last in this paragraph. haha Now, it may be reading too much into it (also keeping in mind that the order is alphabetical, so they could be using that). But, additionally, in that article, they don't touch upon the Q1 2018 release date, something that is surprising, as just pointing out that we're still on schedule for that would be a huge morale booster for the community. So, I hope that the two things I'm touching upon:

1. They want to be better with meeting Roadmap Deadlines
2. SMTs are coming in 2018 (with no date specified in the recent article)

aren't implying that SMTs won't be arriving during Q1 (by End of March 2018), but later in 2018. If they are counting the projection of Q1 2018 in their issues with meeting projected deadlines , then we may have to wait a little longer, which would not be ideal, given that it, to some degree, will be becoming a race with EOS to see what Blockchain will become the 'next' Ethereum, or act as an extremely popular blockchain to build derivative tokens/smart media contracts/decentralized applications on top of. EOS has a lot of money backing it and a great team of talented developers, so it is imperative that Steem acts quick in getting SMTs out and allowing the community to drive the speed of innovation on the Steem Blockchain.

If SMTs are even remotely as successful as Ethereum Tokens, then the price of Steem and the success of the platform will increase exponentially. If the Steemit/Steem Team (@ned et al) can get SMTs out by end of March, then we are going to be in an amazing spot to grow as a community. If we don't, we are getting closer and closer to having a direct, real-time competitor in EOS for the number 2 buildable blockchain. I know the EOS still hasn't released much at all and Steemit's Community/Dapps on the Steem Blockchain are already growing very fast, but with the kind of backing money EOS has, they will have the ability to accelerate quickly, so acting with immediacy is necessary. I hope that the Steem(it) Team is aware of this reality and that they are acting accordingly because although the other features that are coming are way are amazing, SMTs will be an absolute game changer! I believe in Steem and I hope that everyone else here does too, because this is an amazing community!

AS ALWAYS, WISHES OF WEALTH AND HEALTH FOR ALL! :)