No problem. I too look forward to the roll out of SMTs and do hope that they address some of the apparent deficiencies we have seen in Steemit. Like you, I feel the market is anticipating the launch of SMTs and perhaps that explains why the value of Steem and SBDs has risen. However, I feel their values would be further enhanced by foundational improvements to Steemit itself, and the rewards structure of the underlying blockchain as represented by it as its first proof of concept.
The transparency of the blockchain itself is what allows for these discussions to thrive - we all can see the positives and negatives, the good actors and the bad, etc. I recognize that this is all still a work in progress but for broader adoption to hasten, the little guy has to feel that his content has a shot at being seen. The Steem White Paper itself cautioned this: "Any imbalance in the give and take within a community is unsustainable. Eventually the givers grow tired of supporting the takers and disengage from the community."
Well said, I definitely agree that foundational improvements to Steemit itself would do wonders, it's just clear to me that the Steemit team doesn't consider that a priority compared to the potential of SMTs. My guess is that they'll circle back once SMTs are in the wild.
I'm not sure how much SMTs are driving the price recently though. I just don't see much knowledge about them in the space at all. Even here on Steemit I'm continuously reminded of how little people know about/understand them.
I have a feeling that once they are released and people see the concept in play they'll be able to then grasp the significance and impact, but until then I don't think it's gonna happen.
It's still to be seen if Steemit can even deliver on the SMT vision. Exciting times regardless and a fun experiment to be a part of as we get to watch it all unfold.
For me personally, no matter what happens, I've already gotten way more value out of this place then I ever thought I would, which is pretty cool and says something.