Mark Zuckberg's interest in implementing a token into the Facebook system is still sending ripples throughout this blockchain. As I travel around I see not only articles but comments mentioning the effects this will have. Some believe it will put Zuckerberg in the driver's seat as most powerful man in the world. At the same time, others see it as a non-move, an attempt to rescue a passe system.
One thing I find interesting is that the mindset of an individual enters into which side of the debate they are on. Just as an observation, I noticed that those who are into conspiracies tend to think Zuckerberg has the ability to wipe out everything that stands in his way. Now I do not say this in a degrading fashion. Those views are not foreign to me. I researched the Bilderberg group, Sumerian tablets, and the reptilians. I know how powerful (and dangerous) the elite are. They established a strong system of control.
Those who tend to look at things from the technological perspective appear to believe that Facebook implementing a token will not have a windfall effect. It might make Facebook users happy for a while yet it will not thrust Zuckerberg into the forefront as World Czar.
There is simply a fundamental characteristic that makes the later point more sensible.
It can be summed up in this....
Mark Zuckerberg says that Facebook has “a lot of work to do” when it comes to harassment, election interference, and making sure that it’s a meaningful platform to be on. So he’s making it his “personal challenge” for 2018 to “focus on fixing these important issues,”...
There is no doubt that Zuckerberg is a smart guy. He also did a great job steering Facebook since it became public. However, the detriment to him making it his "personal challenge" is that he is just one person. Sure, you could say that decision means he enlists the help of the thousands of developers at Facebook. I will agree with that. Yet that is not enough.
The other day I wrote an article about why Facebook crushing STEEM would be great for humanity and why it would not happen. My main premise there was that Facebook cannot give up control hence are not really creating a blockchain.
STEEM is a decentralized blockchain. The disadvantage that Facebook has is that it is a centralized organization. Even though it employs thousands of the finest developers, they are still hired hands. All research is going to take place within the parameters that are set up by Facebook. And, ultimately, even if those people love what they are doing, they are there for the paycheck.
STEEM's decentralization gives it an advantage that makes it unstoppable by a centralized organization.
That advantage is INNOVATION.
Developers on STEEM are not hired hands. They are not banging away at code until all hours of the night because of a paycheck. They do it because they are passionate. The motives for many will differ yet the desire is the same. Whatever they are working upon, they want it to be a huge success. When that happens, unlike at Facebook, there is personal gain.
Over the last 20 years, as the Internet because a centralized mechanism with only a few companies controlling it, we witnessed innovation fall behind the historical norm. Overall, the DIY world took a hit.
One area it did excel was in the field of mobile applications. Both Google and Apple have platforms that are filled with tens of thousands of apps that were created by individuals. This shows what is possible when people have a venue to express themselves. Of course, the problem is these both are still controlled systems. To start, you are only on their after they approve it AND the compensation program is not equitable.
STEEM eliminates both of these problems. Anyone can create an application and put it on the STEEM blockchain. Nobody needs to approve it. At the same time, the compensation is based upon how many people use it. If it is a popular app, the developer can profit in whatever way he or she decides.
At present, there might be a couple hundred developers on the STEEM blockchain. This is a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands that Facebook employs. Nevertheless, look at the progress of this blockchain in only a couple years. In addition, as word about STEEM gets out, we will not only see more users but also developers. Imagine that number in the thousands instead of the hundreds.
That will be the downfall of the centralized industries. Since Zuckerberg is not going to decentralize and open up his network for anyone to put stuff on (unapproved), he is going to lag in the innovation arena. As I write these words someone is looking at this blockchain and saying "it needs this". Unlike Facebook, that person only needs to sit down at his/her keyboard and start creating.
The technological power of decentralization is just too strong, even for a giant like Zuckerberg.
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I was just flipping through a "gloom-&-doom" article (on Steemit no less!) about how fakebook is winning because Zucks is setting up community leaders to do his bidding for him. This article's author just didn't 'get it' — as well as trying to stir up unnecessary fear among Steem users. We just don't need that negativity here.
Unbelievable.
Appreciate the voice of reason!
You are so right @overkillcoin.
There are so many who post things like it is 2013...blockchain introduced a totally new era. STEEM is now at the center of the social media world, just most do not know it. We have an array of applications that are pretty good right now...imagine what is available a year from now.
Facebook will probably have to do something eventually. It will probably be too late though when it does. This platform also has dtube which together should be able to take down both Facebook and Google. If I was Zuckerberg I would ...... lol
I can not wait for the day articles like this will be posted through facebook if it ever comes. Not trying to take anything away from what Mark did with facebook, but when the mass controls a platform it is fair to say no one man should have total control. I rooting for decentralized platform since the day I discovered it. Thanks.
Watch out Facebook, YouTube and Twitch...The steem blockchain is going to EAT your lunch hahaha
Interesting read. What you wrote here is something I am still getting puzzled with. I am very curious where this platform will be in a couple of years and how de-centralized social media will grow in general.
I used to have this doubt that people will join Steemit mainly to earn money instead of simply being inspired to create. Which would mean that main motivation of people here would be greed. But more I thought about it, I realized that Youtube is almost same nowadays (some creators just do it for money, some to create).
Difference comes of course in a way creator get payed here comapred to Youtube.
Also I have seen some exploatation of Steemit that might seem quite unfair to many users which also puts some doubt, but again, there are exploatations on other media platforms same way.
So WTF do I wanna say - just that your article made me even more curious to see how this blockchain/de-centralized thing will evolve <3
#my2cents.png)
I don't think you can get away from the fact that most people will be inspired to join Steemit, or other Steem apps because of the pptential for payouts. If they were just inspired to create, there are plenty of other places they can do that. But money, where it's available, will always be the overriding factor.
I see the Steem platform as a big experiment - it's the first of its kind, and is still evolving, so it really must be. What will be most interesting to see is where the community, who on the whole are left to self-manage and govern will take it. There's so much potential, but greed will always play a part when money is involved.
Here's keeping my fingers crossed, because I'd love to be an early adoptor of the social platform(s) which change the world.
100% my thoughts :)) Well, it's definitely good to get involved with this kind of movement fast, because even if there will be coming some competitors I think this community will be one of the 1st to know.
Also really curious what will Facebook/Youtube and other platforms response will be. What they will come up with O_O
Facebook = hired hands. Steemit = not hired hands. These two points, made a post within your post. Love your work man.
Helo @taskmaster4450...you so hit the nail on the head at this point. When I got to this point in your post I just smiles because this actually ends the case and clears all doubts.
The fact that steemit is decentralized and people just get to do what they love to do, developers get to developer software from thier hearts just because that's what they love to do, gives steemit so much edge over Facebook when it decides to add a toekn to its operation . The developers will just be there for the pay just like you said and as it is with a one man show, Mark would want everything to meet his personal taste and this would put a lot of limit to what the developers can achieve invariably pulling Facebook way below steemit.
This is really yet another great piece from you I must say...keep it up bro.
It is a great post, and I am optimistic about the future of Steem and Steemit, but I think you're underestimating Facebook. Facebook is not Mark Zuckerberg - there are a lot of talented people there, who've built a juggernaught - and one which won't be de-railed easily.
Yes, they'll have to adapt to the challenge of blockchains, decentralisation and tokens, but they don't have to do it the same way to compete, or stay ahead.
Even if they didn't do anything blockchain-related, they could introduce a totally centralised Facebook token to reward their audience in some way - and they'd happily lap it up and be delighted to get anything.
Well said @taskmaster4450 ,the last post you wrote I would see that quite obviously that Facebook cannot ovecome Steem just because it is centralized . As to developers - it always comes to motivation. If something is a job to you then most likely it will be done just to get the minimal results . If an individual is passionate about it they will go for the best results. Thanks to Utopian these passionate developers can also earn Steem while helping the blockchain evolve.
We never compete Facebook and steemit
Great thoughts Thanks for sharing keep it up
Blockchain is a genie that got out of the bottle. It doesn't matter how hard the establishment tries to get it back it's not going anywhere. Forward thinking companies that embrace it will win, other that remain stuck in the past will lose out. regards
Bingo...you hit the nail on the head.
There is nothing that the establishment can do other than to embrace it.
The fact that the world is going to get less expensive since most everything will end up on blockchain means that the value of these organizations is severely threatened. These entities probably know that and will retaliate. Yet, in the end, it is a fruitless proposition. Blockchain, because of decentralization, is simply too powerful. A centralized, controlled organization cannot stand up to it.
Very Hard to tell.
work for money. natural trueth.
if we can earn reward by entertainment. so whay we will spent free time.
i mean steemit have "All in one " but facebook have not.
I don’t presume to be able to predict what will happen. All I can be sure of is that it will be interesting. The community is what keeps me excited about this place. It has many problems but somehow the community keeps it growing with a strong foundation of user based solutions. I think Facebook COULD compete and win, but I doubt they will be able to match us as far as the community though, so evencif Facebook becomes first place in the game of social media blockchains, I don’t think Steem is going anywhere.
How?
Does this need explaining with facebooks current user base in the billions, it’s power over the flow of information and the masses tendency to just take what’s easy and popular? If steemit monetizes content, the users have little incentive to come over here and people generally tend to follow trends.
But I don’t see why we need to be number one in the space to be immensely successful. And I hope Facebook will be slow enough to catch on to lose a big proportion of its user base to steemit and other competitors. I do think Facebook will remain on top but it could easily lose a third of its users as people spread out. I will be where there is a strong proactive community and so far that's steemit. I don’t see myself going back to Facebook, that’s for sure.
I am going to presume you meant Facebook in this sentence. And so what if they do. Doesnt YouTube incentivize content creators? What makes you think that Facebook, which ultimately answers to Wall Street, is going to give up a vast percentage of the money to the users?
Also, what is preventing anyone from creating a new Facebook. Sure many tried, but it was in a centralized world.
Understanding the power of blockchain means there is no defense for the traditional companies. Just yesterday I posted how Microsoft is going to use BTC, LTC, and ETH for digital identification. Those companies that are smart enough to embrace open blockchain will succeed...those that fight it get run over buy it.
Facebook out innovated MySpace....that is why they crushed them. Facebook cannot out-innovate the blockchain....
I mean it is good desition of facebook.Now people get more benefit to wrote blog on steemit.But facebook also like steemit but they didn't get any benefit.even i know now people loss their interest to use facebook.It just wast of time.
Decentralization, neutrality and innovation should be the leading concepts in the blockchain evolution. And for every technology that will be invented in the future.
The future is so murky at this stage. On one hand I want to say that Blockchain IS the people and that it will give control back to users in deciding what goes. But on the other hand, if you look at a company like Amazon, they take successful smaller projects and make it their own and make it better. Excuse the word, but 'Cash' is still king. Money still will buy you the best developers, except if they refuse to assist these big companies in taking over yet another industry.
And the blockchain world has an unlimited amount of money since each blockchain can create its own money.
Plus you are still a hired hand at that point....exchanging time for money albeit lots of money.
True that. So the developers will also be separated into true-believers and hired hands. If they believe in the projects they're developing, they'll accept payment in that token/coin. But i they're just doing it for the money, they'll take jobs at high-fiat-paying companies like Amazon. So essentially we're all in the same boat. The developers' boats just make a bit more important splashes , I think
The developers, for the most part, get no payment. They create out of love and seeing a need. Their compensation is not direct. If they create a successful application that people flock to, they will get rewarded. And, if it becomes big enough, they can create their own token like the Appic group is doing.
I would not be surprised to see Zappl and D.Tube have their own tokens at some point...and many more on here.
And creating a token for a popular app, I imagine is very profitable...a lot more than working at Facebook.
That's a great answer. Thank you!
steemit has gone far too wide beyond the reach of ther social media. It the nice few years steemit will take the world by storm. now when you observe critically, one will see that the tile is drifting from facebook to steemit as the numbers of users is increasing per second..
steemit has the innovation that other social media never dreams of.
in few years from now, steemit will be the first and only household name.
Yes.. that's right.. go ahead Steemit...
Very nice and congratulations
I agree with you. Facebook and its shareholders have power. People do not like to give up power once they have it. It goes against human nature. I think just for that fact alone Facebook could not succeed on a decentralized platform. Steemit started out with the power given to the people. That is why it is successful as a decentralized platform. People love power and control and have never given it up with out a fight.
If they put it all on the decentralized network, where is the value. Facebook's moat is gone. The code would them be open meaning anyone could copy it or fork the chain. While people would still have to come over, the present value of Facebook as an application would be greatly diminished.
Even if Zuckerberg wanted to do that and take his payment in crypto, Wall Street will not allow it.
Of a truth, Facebook being a centralized organization is going to hinder their progress even if they introduced a reward system into it. People had accepted it when there was not much option but times have changed.
Last Saturday, I was running some promotion about Steemit, Zappl, Dtube and others on my Facebook page and the promotion was banned by Facebook because according to them I was promoting cryptocurrency. I wasn't happy because I felt I have the right to promote whatever I like and leave it to the individuals to choose what appeals to them. The days of centralized industries is windy down as more and more people will opt for freedom in the days to come. That's my thoughts anyway, we can never tell what happens tomorrow.
Thank you for the comment @lordjames.
And you are just one users trying to promote something that interests you. Imagine that same situation repeated hundreds of thousands of times.
As much as Facebook might want to act like STEEM, they will not. It is impossible to enjoy the benefits of blockchain without giving up the control. They do not go together.
The true value in blockchain is there is nobody in control....nobody to answer to....people are free to create whatever they want.
The innovation curve is about to be kicked in the upward direction. This is something the world has needed for a long time.
Yet another fine and informative piece ~ thanks @taskmaster4450
I enjoy your posts immensely as they truly compliment my world view as I come to the table from a spiritual perspective.
There is wisdom in your words I believe,
xox
A very sane voice resonates throughout of the blog. Your balanced and unbiased views are really worth appreciating.
STEEM's strength lies in its decentralized blockchain. It has developed into a strong community which is more than willing to help each other. Every individual who is the member of steemit thinks himself as a stakeholder and here the strength lies. Every body is special minnows, dolphins, and whales all.
Facebook is legging behind due to its centralized concept. Users don't have any say in the developments or policies of the site. People are not owning it. Unless this type of scenario changing there is no future for facebook.
Very well said @taskmaster4450.
Steem has 2 advantages like you mentioned.
One, it is decentralized
(2) It doesn't really get to censor post and that's a great advantage.
You can see thousands of people getting into this platform on a daily basis, Hundreds of YouTubers dumping YouTube for D-tube
And besides, despite the deep in the crypto market, Steem has been able to maintain a steady and a stable outlook and I guess this level of balance is because of both the crypto and the social network.
Yes, Facebook is an already established platform. But before structures like DAT can just dive into a market as big as crypto, it would need a well mapped out plan and strategy to succeed and I guess Mark needs time to do that. And with that time of trying to fix and plan stuffs, I'm sure steemit should have been stable and would be a vibrant competitor.
Thanks for sharing such wisdom @taskmaster4450
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I agree with you. I think, every social sites should have a blockchain system. Because they is taking profit billion billion dollars from publisher. Because of that I salute steemit.
I do not think that Facebook is taking profit on the content created from publishers directly. The content produced over there is nearly worthless. FB is earning from the attention of the people, clicking on Adds because the content is meaningless.
You're exactly right TM. I mentioned a while ago that I expect Facebook, Amazon and Google to launch their own tokens/cryptocurrencies... but these would be heavily centralised, and I'm absolutely sure they'd all be pre-mined to ensure no one profits more than those companies. For those reasons they'll never really be mass adopted... in fact, they'll likely annoy everyone if the new tokens are a barrier to entry to purchases (which I doubt). What I expect is that we'll all get paid in Facebucks to watch ads on Facebook.
I'll pass on that, thanks Mark.
They can give customers a direct benefit simply by accepting the created currency. Advertisers are paying tokens for advertisements being visible, users earn coins as a percentage by generating clicks and use Dollars for buying the products. Out of these profits the advertisers are buying coins on a free market. It is possible to create the perfect illusion of a truly independent and distributed system in this way. If something is going in the wrong direction, simpy stop accepting the coin and invent the next one. No risk at all.
Yeah...the currencies of those sites might have short-term utility and excite people. However, over time, as people start to learn about decentralization, they will quickly see how living under the control of those sites is not in their best interest.
I honestly don't know if people object to commercials as much as I do.... but Facebook will always have ads, Google will always have ads and Steem never will. On that single point alone we can be confident we've hitched our horse to the right wagon.
I should start by saying, I don't particularly like Facebook, how it operates and the levels of control they have, and abuse on a mas scale. And I don't have any warm feelings toward Zuckerberg. But I have to admire what he/they have achieved.
I wouldn't class myself as a conspiracy theorist, but I am willing to look at both sides of any argument and try not to rely on the first story I'm fed when making up my mind on something.
And I don't believe Zuckerberg is "an elite". But he is very smart, has already built possibly the most powerful business ever (which is a strong statement, but I believe justified because of their profits, reach and control over the attention of, and ability to influence billions of people around the globe).
But Facebook didn't start out where it is today - it has evolved, adapted and bought their way to the position they're in today.
Yes, they have to change their model, and adapt again. Because blockchain is a real threat to their dominance. But they don't have to throw out everything they've created and start again. And a blockchain doesn't have to be decentralised in order to gain mass adoption/acceptance - just look at the hype surrounding Ripple and the XRP token.
So Facebook can integrate blockchain technology into their existing platform. It might not please the purists, but it might appease the masses.
And...
STEEM has the potential to dethrown Facebook and every other social platform out there. But it's potential. We're still at less than a million users and it's all still an experiment at this stage.
Self-government and self-censorship might have worked with a small, dedicated and passionate community, but we're still to see how STEEM will grow.
If it is to keep growing, the most important users must be the small, "insignificant", newbies who come to the platform, not the whales who control, and massively profit from it. The main selling point is the monetisation, and if new users can't see how THEY can get a piece of the pie, most won't stick around.
The more friction there is in signing-up and getting up-and-running, the fewer people will stay in the community.
Honestly, I personally don't think Steem will dethrone Facebook. They're just different.... Facebook events are so incredibly useful and Messenger is amazing... I'll continue to use Facebook to communicate with family and friends... but I won't spend time browsing it like I once used to.
I totally agree. In these kind of applications it is even FB's advantage that content can be removed.
Yes, at the moment I agree, There's nothing on the STEEM blockchain which is trying to take on Facebook yet though. I'm sure somebody will try to develop something, even if its across a few apps (i..e one for instant messenger, one for timeline posts/connections) - and Appics is coming soon to challenge Instagram.
In the longterm, blockchain is clearly better solution than a central website, so Facebook and the like will at least have to adapt. It's just a question of how they do it, and whether there's anything else available (STEEM or elsewhere) which will blow them out of the water. Too early to tell with any of the current STEEM apps IMO.
offcouse steem is the future of socal media and facebook is now old thing i mean why will some one want to wast his time on facebook
I want to write a great comment but my dinner just arrived. So I'll just say yes to the decentralised movement!
Agreed - decentralization is a powerful force. In fact, one could even argue that the reason why traditional/mainstream media is failing is because it failed to recognize the power of decentralization and the rise of blogs and Facebook/Twitter. The wave of blogging and social media led to a loss of power for the traditional media elites - they could no longer control the narrative. And, even more, they lacked the funds to provide the same expansive coverage as "citizen journalists" all over the world.
So... I think we will see the same sort of dramatic changes now as blockchain-based social media supplants Facebook social media. That's why I'm so optimistic about Steem and the blockchain. It's going to change a lot.
It's nice to read, I'm going and reading one more time.
Perfectly written. Zuckerberg will never dare to decentralize facebook, as this will be equated to the fact that he will simply give facebook to someone else. Good luck to you.
I very much think that @ned's vision of enabling 100,000 entrepreneurs to develop their apps on Steem in the next 5 yrs will make Steem a decentralised and far superior competitor to the Play store and Apple app store. It will awesome to see the Steem ecosystem grow to rival behemoths like Google and FB.
I like you optimism and I can only hope you are correct.
Yes, FB token is coming, so is Amazon's.
Big players are entering and they have huge following and huge influence.
Big money is in charge, big money is writing it's own laws.
If big money feels threatened, they will enforce on us laws, that prohibit this and that...
What I see is, battle is coming, between centralized and decentralized systems, between control and freedom. Who will win?
I do not really think that the state authorities will allow Facebook, Google or any other organization relying on state services to negate the power of their central banks.
Interesting times are ahead of us, that's for sure. And no-one really knows the outcome, but we can speculate.
Btw, it is not what state authorities will allow, they are not in charge, it is, state authorities will do what powers that be will decide. Now, will powers that be clash or cooperate among themselves? I would say they are more connected that it may seems.
They all see common enemy they have, decentralization, freedom, democracy and in-dependency.
We should keep in mind that there are false friends as false enemies all around us.
An in depth discussion is not what is fitting into this thread.
It will take some time for these advantages to kick in. Meanwhile I'm curious how social media game will play out and if facebook will truly improve and try to adapt. Even more centralized blockchain have their fans (i.e ripple)
Mark Zuckerberg has a lot of power and I think he could change some things with the adoption of a Token or whatever...
But the Blockchain technology cannot be stopped that´s already established, even the haters of cryptocurrencies all believe in the potential and innovation characteristics of this tech.
Facebook will never go away, though. There are plenty of people on it who use it simply to stay in touch with others. Additionally, some people crave the centralized setup because it lets them block content they don't agree with or find "offensive." Facebook lets them do that by reporting things and getting things removed. They won't want to let go of that control.
Admittedly, a big draw of Steemit is income. However, I also love the concept of people being able to post what they want with less regard of public denouncement by trolls and haters. There are far too many of those on Facebook, many of which are in that group that want to maintain control for themselves.
So while I do believe Steemit will continue to grow, there will always be something else for those who can't handle free thinking and tolerance.
Just my 2 cents.
This was an interesting article. The issues stated here are real issues that will face facebook if Zuckerberg decides to go into the cryptoworld using the steemit template. What if he decides not to?
What if he creates a template that fits the facebook system but still rewards users. In steemit, there are certain limitations to how content are presented e.g posts should be original content, posts should be of a certain length etc. Also the focus on votes gives people the need to follow and interact on content they don't like or know anything about while facebook relationships are made based on similar interests and likes.
Facebook has the platform to do so much in the crypto world and I believe steemit still needs to do more to counter facebook if Zuckerberg decides to join crypto.
The fact that these developers are hired hands is even more important because hired people never work as hard as people working for themselves.
Giving people ownership of their own projects is far superior to letting them work on yours in exchange for money.
This is a good sign! Facebook is concerned....they should be.
Myspace>> Facebook>> STEEM>> ???Something on EOS
It's a simple story of natural evolution.
I don't think Zuck will setup a proper blockchain. He's got too much money and power involved. He might tell people it's a blockchain, but we all know it won't be.
you talk about a important thing......i impressed to see your post......i hope everybody like your post...thanks for shear it..