I'd argue Snapchat is another mega-platform (rather than a specialised offshoot of something else). Imagine if Snapchat had diluted it's core offering before it had even gained traction (like Steem is proposing)?
Forums have been huge before Facebook. Yet people know Reddit to be the premiere forum.
Steem should focus on gaining a critical mass (as the blockchain, user-reward based social media platform), before outreach. Success with Steem first, then SMTs become more viable...
If Kik wanted to launch via a Steem SMT what advantage would they have on Steem vs on Ethereum?
Great question! First there are the token characteristics which would be immediately superior with 3 second fee-less transfers, but more importantly they would be able to launch the token with minimal engineering investment. People seriously underestimate just how much work it requires to launch an ERC20 before you even get to the mechanics of making sure that the token actually serves a function. Kik doesn't want to be a blockchain company and they shouldn't have to be just to integrate a token that actually works. When SMTs launch they will be far and away the easiest and most efficient way to integrate a token that will just work. The tokens will immediately start flowing to Kik's most valuable users as determined by the stake-weighted upvotes of Kik's users.
Community Liaison, Steemit
STEEM was never about steemit alone. Steemit is a proof of concept of what the STEEM blockchain was capable of. That doesn't mean steemit will stop to develop but it means that now devs won't start their own chain because they have no power to decide on their reward pool parameter and raise fund like Steemit INC was able to.
Critical mass will be achieve by thousands of experiments, maybe steemit.com will be the one to make it but why bank on one alone?
As with most development it is rarely "either/ or" but prioritisation and timing.
It would be good to hear from Steemit Inc on how development and roadmap of Steemit and other apps (e.g. mobile app) will be impacted by SMT.
this development goes hand in hand with the community feature. I would expect the major overhaul of the front-end by SteemFest.