Stakeholders vs. Regular Users
One thing that I have always found interesting about the interactions that I have with various Steemians is the disconnect that often exists between "regular users" and "stakeholders".
Regular Users
Regular users are typically interested in earning rewards. They want to know how they can get their content discovered and upvoted. They care a lot about new features (such as the posting editor). Their ideal scenario is to find a way to contribute value to the platform and be rewarded for it.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are typically interested in "Return on Investment" or ROI. They want to get out more money than they put in. Their ideal scenario is that the STEEM tokens they hold go way up in value with the smallest amount of work required by them.
Disclaimer
These characterizations are purposely over-simplified for discussion purposes. Obviously not every user or stakeholder is going to simply fit into these boxes.
Conflict of Interest
Often the goals of stakeholders and regular users are at odds with each other. The tactics that many users earn to try and earn rewards may actually be making the stakeholders tokens worth less. Things that stakeholders may do in order to get the highest ROI may be harmful to a regular user's experience.
Cooperation
At the same time, there is a shared common interest between all parties involved, and that is the success of Steem. If Steem is successful, then everybody wins. There are more rewards to be paid to regular users, and the value of all the stakeholders' tokens goes up.
Bridging the "Gap"
If the interests of stakeholders and users aligned, then we have both groups working together towards the success of Steem. One of the biggest things that I think will help with that is to inform regular users what the stakeholders are looking for. Then they can do more of "that", and hopefully earn more rewards in the process.
Interview a Stakeholder Series
I am planning to start a "Interview a Stakeholder" series to get input from stakeholders that can be provided to regular users.
The goal of this is to help the regular users better understand the views of the stakeholders, so that they can better tailor their contributions towards what the stakeholders actually want.
Who to Interview?
The interview will be 100% voluntary for stakeholders (so I cannot guarantee anyone will participate), but if you have any "special requests" of anyone you would like me to try and interview - let me know in the comments and I will try.
Questions
The main purpose of this post is to solicit feedback from everyone in the community about what types of questions you would like me to ask to stakeholders.
Here are some examples:
- How did you become a part of the Steem project?
- When did you join?
- How did you acquire a majority of your stake?
- How many STEEM tokens do you currently hold?
- Do you hold a lot of other tokens besides STEEM?
- What Steem apps do you use on a regular basis?
- In addition to holding tokens, how else are you involved in the project?
- What types of things do you do in order to get a ROI on your investment?
- What do you think is standing in the way of $10 STEEM?
- What type of contributions do you consider to be adding value to your investment?
- How do you discover and reward those types of contributions?
- Do you delegate SP to any projects? If so, what types of projects do you support?
- What do you look for when casting witness votes?
- Do you have strong views on any of the issues that are frequently discussed?
- What would you like to see more/less of from regular users?
In the comments below, please add your suggestions for what questions you would like me to ask in the interviews.
A few more for you:
And on a less serious note:
What a great idea! By having these conversations we might begin to develop a common path or even better maybe a vision. I look forward to listening to the conversations.
I like the questions and I guess I am interested in hearing the various visions of ALL of them. Interview them all! :)
Do you have a timeframe for how long you plan to hold STEEM? Or a price target?
It is commonly thought that the best ROI is found upvoting your own accounts, and delegating to bidbots. Do you think anything can/will compete with this with regards to ROI in future?
cheers!
Most of the question I would ask are probably covered here, but there is a few I can think of:
How about 1% every day? Joking aside, what is this number right now for self voted stake, does anyone know? (Let's say in USD)
Your approach reflects what is also discussed in the real world. How can shareholders and the normal meet? How much does someone who invests money in a business actually care about the common good? Is this automatically provided for when the small fish reach their share and who has actually ever had enough of something? I have always wondered how someone ticks who wants to make even more money out of money and what he actually intends to do with it? In my understanding and my world view, I would not be someone who would acquire a share of a business just for profit if I did not have a personal interest in the business itself. This personal interest cannot be profit alone. That alone is boring as hell. For example, if I were someone investing in real estate, I would be interested in the property itself. Where a building is built, what benefits it provides, how comfortable the residents of this building feel, what significance it should have for the residents and the environment, what psychological and ecological balance it can have, etc. If I were an investor, I would physically add myself to the place where a product in the sales proceeds I participate is manufactured. I would want to talk to people, ask them what ideas they associate with their work, etc.
I believe that I should only invest if I am prepared to lose all my money. Investment should not be a purely in-out-business.
I would be most interested in what someone is aiming for with his ROI and what he is trying to achieve in the material world.
Good luck for you to find interview partners! I would like to hear or watch what you talk about.
By stakeholders are you referring to the hardcore of stakeholders who don't rely on posting and just invest by delegation / witnessing / running services etc?
Yes. Basically "large" stakeholders.
You already listed a question on how they choose witnesses. Maybe delve into this more and ask for specific reasons why they voted for a particular witness?
I would also like to know about their views on the upcoming changes for the Steem blockchain.
Thanks!
Thanks!
In my opinion, both Regular Users (Value Generators) and Stake Holders (Investment Injectors) are vital for the Steem Economy and in my opinion every user and Stake Holder should analyse all aspects so that they can effectively contribute towards the Steem Economy.
And i want to appreciate your idea because through these kind of initiatives we can understand the directions and visions of users and we can study the pattern of behaviour of Crypto Holders.
And as an Steem Enthusiast i want to see the growth of the Steem and hope that future holds the great Sphere for the Steem for sure, and also i want to say that Steem Economy is facing all the ups and downs but in my opinion still it's an super effective platform which is practically working and effecting many lives in an good way.
Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂
Definitely a helpful exploration, yes. Thumbs up!
I would ask:
There is a kind of conflict currently between the effects of actions which benefit stakeholders in the short term (such as circular voting and selling of votes to vote bots) and actions which might benefit both stakeholders and the price of Steem in the long term (such as supporting the best and most engaging content that the wider web wants to see - thus attracting new users/investors and demonstrating proof of brain to work well). Do you know for certain which of your actions help or hinder long term gains through the increase in Steem's value? What factors affect your decision to chase short term returns that may hurt Steem in the long run and which affect your decision to take a longer term strategy? Factors may include those internal to the Steem eco-system, personal factors and external factors in the wider world.
I can think of a lot of other questions, but this sticks out in my mind at the moment!
Per definition every user with stake is a stakeholder. The question is why are there stake holders, who do not see the need to support / create good quality content.
Thanks for the initiative. Let's hope we get a decent participation.
@ timcliff These questions are really interesting to answer and your thinking is really good
What can be done to remedy the bid bot voting scheme, is it really harmful to the STEEM ecosystem. And if not, how can it contribute to the growth.
1.How about steemit platform in the future, especially in global economics environment and cryptocurrency world?
(PS: sorry for my English)
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Good question; I was thinking of how to frame it, but it seems that for those who are wanting to soak the most ROI out of the platform are ultimately going to make it more difficult for noobs to get a fair share.
So, how much concern do you have that your actions will ultimately be against the better interests of the platform and its community?
Steemit is not about posting and voting what you like, it's a strategy. So it's full of kitty images, articles on how good we in steemit are and people tryng to bring on their own bussiness...