I decided to have a look at Google Trends for Steemit, and as it would turn out its been an amazing couple of months for the community. So first off grats on the impressive uptick ;)
However the most interesting thing to me was where searches were coming from. The top 5 list of countries include Nepal, Venezuela, South Korea, Myanmar, and Nigeria. What stood out to me about this list, is that it seems to match interest in cryptocurrencies I've seen discussed elsewhere.
Parts of Africa, like Kenya and Nigeria as two main examples, are flocking to crypto to fill in gaps in their economies with cheap phones that more people have access to daily. Southeast Asia has also seen a lot of interest in crypto, with increasing numbers of ventures focussed on expanding the reach of crypto in developing regions of Southeast Asia.
South Korea on the other hand, while not exactly "developing" in the same sense, does have a large appetite for bitcoin and ethereum, and by extension they also seem like one of the countries most interested in Steemit. Likewise Venezuela has developed its own appetite for cryptocurrencies in the wake of its ongoing crisis, and it manages to score second place on the list of people seeking out steemit by name.
Next I noticed the related topics and searches section, and sure enough Reddit pops up as one of the top 5 related topics, and "steemit reddit" shows up in the top 5 related queries.
It shouldn't be surprising that Reddit matches up with Steemit on both lists, but given the users who seem most interested in Steemit at the moment, it does present a strong niche for Steemit to focus on. While Reddit is primarily used by developed nations (see reddit's top 5 countries below), it doesn't have the same draw in developing nations where any number of other services currently fill that space, and where Steemit is currently doing the best in organic search.
TL;DR: Given the growing shared interest in cryptocurrency in developing regions, the apparent correlation between appetite for cryptocurrencies and interest in Steemit, and the fact that Reddit is most used in developed nations rather than developing nations, it would appear Steemit is well positioned to become the Reddit of the developing world. And with current trends in crypto and Steemit's organic searches, it seems like that may very well happen soon.
Very exciting stuff. I hope things continue to grow this way.
Likewise :). The potential opportunities for crypto in general are amazing, but seeing the developing world flock to it has been great to watch. Given that the commercial infrastructure is less developed in many of these places, the switching costs are lower since for many people they're not really switching from anything, so I expect we're going to see crypto explode in many of those very same countries over the next couple years. Steemit could very well help in driving that change. Exciting stuff indeed! :D
I agree, it's a great time to be getting involved so close to the beginning. Lots of investment oppertunities :)
Nice research and interesting findings. Great that you have offered an opinion of your own, it adds value
Cheers
Thanks :). I've been spending more time in crypto lately after not for a while, so I'm hoping to mind dump as I re-assess the landscape and see what people think. Every time I come back to crypto its changed so much, so I figure I'll pitch things to the wind and see what new things I learn from it :P
It's inevitable the platform is already primed for this and could easily become a home base. Unless a new site rips it out from under them. But for now it's pretty comfortable here.
Agreed, I don't see Steemit going anywhere. Much like Reddit being open sourced, it doesn't matter that anyone else could just clone it. Steemit's growth numbers as of late have been huge, and people have already started to find and establish their communities on here. That's the real value. The simple, friction-less entrance into crypto is more of a perk, but one that seems to be helping spur adoption in some key markets. It'll be interesting to watch those trends over the next few years.
Steemit should ban spammers and spinned articles if wants to be the first!