Steem Has Likely Become Your Most Important Investment
About one month ago at ICO Examiner (there are two of us), we posted an article on the Datum ICO because it grabbed our attention and we figured that other people should know about it.
We came across Steemit, almost by accident, as we went looking for a platform where there was a healthy and vibrant crypto-savvy community.
The reaction to that article tugged at our curiosity - how exactly do these up-votes work, what exactly is Steem Power, what is the difference between a Steem Dollar and Steem itself etc? We did a little digging and very quickly realised that we might be onto something.
After reading the White-paper and doing a little bit more digging, we then went off and bought a bunch of Steem.
The reason we did so was because, like all of our crypto-investments, we saw real potential with the concept and we saw too that the Steemit.com website was rising exponentially in the Alexa rankings.
Married to that we just enjoyed being on the Steemit platform itself - engaging with a whole bunch of people whose insights we loved and who were engaging with us. The enthusiasm was absolutely embedded.
Buy and Hold - Or Not?
We therefore went all in and converted all of our Steem to Steem Power. We were in this for the long-term because we believed in the platform and the concept.
After a few weeks, however, we started to get a little bit worried. We kept asking ourselves: "What exactly are the developers up to?"
Our investment was also predicated on observable, incremental improvements which we naturally assumed were on their way and which would drive up-coming added-value. We weren't, however, seeing many of these, at least not enough to inspire confidence.
We got a tad concerned. And despite the ongoing Alexa ratings-rise, there didn't seem to be a corresponding increase in the USD-value of Steem. We got more concerned. Maybe we were just a bit too enthusiastic, we thought.
And then we saw this: https://steemit.com/steem/@ned/announcing-smart-media-tokens-smts
Just over five hours ago, we got the email - the official announcement from Steemit in relation to the new Smart Media Tokens.
We're still taking all of this in, we're still reading the White-paper. But here's what we have surmised so far:
- Smart Media Tokens will allow other content platforms to integrate a Steemit-type reward model
- Smart Media Tokens leverage Steem
- The people behind the Steem platform have essentially just released a suped-up equivalent of the Ethereum-based, ERC-20 compliant token model but for content ICOs of the future.
- The people behind the Steem project have a proven track record in promoting their products
We know now what was holding back those developers. And we know why Steem's trading volume has multiplied by ten over the last 48 hours.
The announcement is just a few hours old. The ramifications are still to take hold within the crypto-community. We're still reading through the white-paper. Our suspicion is, however, that Steem has just become the to-to platform for content-based ICOs.
For those of us that missed the Bitcoin and Ethereum wagons, let's be honest - we didn't know what HODL'ing was before, and I suspect we're just all about to find out...!
While I don't think that STEEM will be a competition for Ethereum - it will disrupt the media industry. This will be huge!
Agreed....this WILL be huge! :-) My Ethereum comment more related to the fact that, whilst Ethereum has become the go-to platform for launching an ICO, I think this out-of-the-box content-focused facility now offered by Steem will make it a huge and very popular pole of attraction for content-focused ICOs. And given the facility with which a content ICO can then be implemented, I think they may just become the driving force within ICOs generally. Or at least that's what I'm hoping!
I am with you. I too believe we are in for a ride of our life. Still on the ground floor of this amazing opportunity and platform. The next thing I am waiting to see happen in the announcement of an blockchain Internet that does not require the Internet, something that allows peer to peer connections without the possibility of anyone (government, corporation, controlling elite, etc, etc) to put a stop to where all of this is going. I am believing that will be coming as well, then it's all over. The FREEDOM bell will ring! Followed, Upvoted, Resteemed
Upvoted and following :-) And thank you for taking an interest. A P2P majority-structured internet would be fantastic indeed :-) And it's on its way...!
It's good news for sure, but I don't think it makes STEEM comparable to Ethereum by a longshot. You have to remember, ETH is a lot more than an ICO platform. ICO's on Ethereum is only part of the value of ETH.
I don't see STEEM dethroning Ethereum over this, even though I'd love if that were to happen obviously :D
That's very true. Ethereum is a lot more than an ICO-platform, but I still get the impression that most demand for its tokens (outside of speculative flows) is coming from ICOs. And I do think content-focused ICOs have now become a major focus (or will do so once the white-paper concept is fully implemented) in ICO-land. But, yes, now that I've settled down from the last few hours of pump, I am now rather thinking that perhaps I was getting ahead of myself :-)
Although, hang on, on second thoughts - no..! I'm going back to my original assertion. I more or less see Ethereum (like Bitcoin) as a missed boat. I think the annoucement now means we can see Steemit like Ethereum in its July 2016 phase.
To be honest, the ICO part being the most valuable of Ethereum (and other platforms) is, in my opinion, the bubble that people are talking about. I think it's going to pop fast, with all these other ICO platforms coming out. I think the time for the ICO craze has passed..
Yes, I do believe this is the Blockchain equivalent of the tech bubble of the early noughties. But I'm still excited - because I can still believe there are opportunities, and I genuinely believe that we are witness to something major and I'm happy to play a very small part in all of that. Now, that said, I'm re-reading through previous comments - and am realising that I should perhaps calm down a tad, grab some tea and head to bed and come back when I'm in a more rational, less-excited state of mind :-)
@icoexaminer it is indeed exciting times. I see so much potential for the steem platform. The flow of information on this platform is interesting in that it has a seven day wave of now. This is were our rewards are payed out this is awesome for the now and yet it leaves in the wake a giant deposits of amazing content that has no more value added to it, at least this is how I see it from my limited point of view right now. Could this new coin stuff be able to tip old content or otherwise give it rewards? I think some sort of opportunity is sitting here in this mountain of content especially as time goes on and the database of content grows. Thank you for any insight you can provide.
Creativity flows in the waves of now.
Allowistic Artist
Vincent Strader
#allowistic my art flow
@icoexaminer I just went and read the white paper! Oh my now I see what you mean that it can overtake with this has the human element that is one of the most powerful forces. And the zero cost to participate in crypto for all the content creators and users of networks. I am an active user on anchor.fm a voice and music platform for making podcasts and talking and they are having issues in how to monetize a the platform. I am going to share the white paper with them I would love to use the app and earn a coin that can be turned into steem. This is exactly what I have been searching for. Thank you again for writing this article.
Creativity flows in the waves of now.
#allowistic