I love the business idea behind steemit, people create content, the content creates block-chain and the block-chain will feed a currency and the creators get paid by this inner-made crypto-currency.
content always has a noble genuineness in the net; it feeds the hunger for knowledge, it has usability, it drives traffic and it is measurable in quantity and quality somehow.
I didn't doubt a second, to start writing on steemit and didn't hesitate to introduce it to all my friends to try it. in an era most of business plans should be viewed skeptical and startups fail 10-15 times more than those who survive, encouraging people to spend time on a new platform is a serious risk for your reputation!
I believe steemit worth this risk, to put the business model to test.
Is steemit a pyramid or ponzi scheme?
I don't believe so. but let's check:
steemit is not decentralized, as the founders claim. you need to log on their website, so one person can shut it down one day for any reason. also they have mined all the money, so the early adapters (let's say the founders) have the most weight in steeming any content up! remember, users paid in the token Steem Power get more voting credentials, and receive half their payments in Steem Dollars. so the richer are more important. that can be fair, but the founders are the richest. well something here is wrong, but it doesn't stop the machine of getting just, in a matter of time (what they call it HARD work... yes, really hard!)
So I consider steemit, a centralized cryptocurrency.
but it is not pyramid scheme, because no one gets paid for bringing others. no referrals.
it is not also ponzi, because you don't pay anything and there is no interest to your asset.
these are two very clear terms in economics. the fact is, if something is not ponzi or pyramid, it doesn't mean it's totally good and clean!
so what's the problem with steemit?
the business model! it's the most important part of a business. 90% of ideas are great, it's important how to monetize them. people can clap hands and cherish you for your dreams and ideas, but they do not necessarily pay you for them.
Advertising?
the first thing pops in the mind of anyone while you are talking about content, is publishing ads.
I believe steemit fails in this part for two reasons:
- there are no ads! (this means they do not believe in themselves! they don't believe they can convince publishers to dedicate part of their budget to steemit and will prefer facebook or google adwords etc)
- search ads are powered by Google adsense!
this is a bigger mistake! you guys are monetizing your system with a rival's service!?
so steemit has nothing to say about ads, which is a pity...
the second thing, is called speculation. every currency comes with this term. holders of a currency, or share holders of any company, hope the value of their asset rise, as the unit goes higher. there s no problem with that.
the problem is, it seems to me, this is the only way founders of steemit are trying to get RICH! and it scares me to shit! because imagine a time, they have cashed out, and there seems no other reason to keep the service up and pay loads of dollars for servers etc.
any chance??
YES! I believe there is still a chance!
the creators of steemit should focus on content-driven income like ads and data mining beside the speculation on the currency. So the income in future can convince other firms (if the founders would like to exit) to run the system and keep it up.
this is the only way out, in my opinion.
Hey thx for the really nice content!!!! But isnt it better to have no adds? And why exactly do u need them !!!
Steem is still in ist childshoes!!! I think it will grow huge in the next years to come!!! how do you want to make searches when not google!!! its the powerhouse in this kind of market!!! why not profit from it ?
on what strength this child should stand?
we don't need ads, the system needs them to make money. if the only money making facility is speculation on steem prices, the business model will be unsustainable for the same reasons I said.
I agree .
yeah thats really good point ! I think Steem is a really great platform ! But i get yout point. I am really excited to see how steem is going to solve this in the future :) Merry Christmas :)
merry Christmas buddy
Borrowing from ad space; "Where's the beef!?" is appropriate for this model.
Where's the beef suits all BMs which worked :))
thank you for the posting, which I found is one of the most understandable explanations on the steemit's biz model. by the way, it is still confusing where is new money coming into it.
10 month since this post was published and it still has only 5 votes! LOL
🙄
apparently it is not a very popular issue discussed here - that's why it still didn't get more exposure (views) and "curation".
another thing which remains the same is: Search is still done through Google! 😆
that's how actually I've found it - though that Google Search, the only one Search provided on Steemit website at all.
appreciate you for clarifying few points:
thought so too. (well, decentralized unlikely to have CEO, right?)
although then you said it is not a ponzi - that I'm not so sure about.
there are a lot of opinions which state otherwise. seems like other things also remain the same...
steemit isn't a cryptocurrency!
you see? :)) I was very naive back then...
anyway, I still have problems with the business model, but it's better to forget about this old post, and maybe we can write a new one? ;)
yes, I wanted to point that out too - but nowadays a lot of people use words Steem and Steemit interchangeably, something also mean community of users too.
as for biz model (aka "Ecosystem") it actually pretty much remains the same, or even becomes increasingly so and adds new elements to it (as RC). but certainly it would be good to get your sort of "revised" assessment of it anew. especially because you're still around since the 1st one, unlike many others who either left or became inactive (hibernating or lurking). so, yeah, please do that and perhaps I'll try to write one as well. :)