What feels like a million years ago, I joined Steem with zero understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrencies and while I had heard of Bitcoin and even considered buying some back in about 2012 or so, the hurdle that stopped me was, I had no idea what I was doing. Funny isn't it? In a comment today, @lucylin mentioned that even though he has been here two years, he still has no idea about crypto -I beg to differ.
He has come here, earned crypto and traded crypto for fiat, something that less than 1% of the world has done and for me, I still haven't traded anything into fiat myself, another thing to learn... perhaps. While @lucylin said it was accidental and not by design - I beg to differ again.
One of the things I recognized very early in my time on Steem is the massive advantage it has in training people for crypto usage and it becomes a natural progression that is forced by the design. While anyone can join up on Steem and earn crypto, it quickly pushes the learning needed to use it for various purposes either on platform or off and, it has a great deal of support both through posts and members of the community in comments or chats.
This very low barrier of entry to earn crypto and the comparitively soft start with little risk into the world of trading, is going to be a huge competitive advantage as the normies come into the cryptosphere. The more Steem is able to simplify the process of not only onboarding onto Steem but facilitating the steps between, the faster Steem will spread as one of the main issues with most of the projects out there is complication.
Considering that the social interaction of Steem is going to be a major drawcard that brings in people outside of the tech circles, lowering the technical barriers to using the currency will get them up to speed and will also teach them the basics like security and protection, something that most on the centralized platforms don't spend much time thinking about.
What people tend to forget here is that anyone who has earned some Steem has done what most people in this world don't even know is possible. Once they do realise it is happening though, there will be an increasing flow of people in and the projects that are able to reduce the technical barriers of entry and offer support along the path are the ones that are going to be most successful at attracting and retaining users.
So far, most of the development is around the technical application and even the development aimed at simplification is still quite complicated for the average user coming in from platforms that do it all for them.While not all simplification is possible, the more applications and Steem infrastructure can handle various aspects of the process without each user having to run to a dozen different applications, the better the user experience becomes.
While it is great that there is the chance to take responsibility for the self and control back of various aspects of life, the reality is that going full decentralized for most average people is going to set up hurdles that they just won't choose to overcome. Mainstreaming requires setting up systems for the masses and if they have to learn too much, the masses will go or stay elsewhere.
What I think could happen is that while the soft start can be achieved, once in, people will slowly spiral their learning up to include more and more decentralized thinking which will mean they will increasingly push toward autonomy of action. Many will learn about security, recovery and of course, the best ways and places to trade without having to risk Googling it and hoping they aren't getting scammed.
This is anther benefit of having a community in Steem. Even though crypto and blockchain is about trustless transactions, humans still like to have human interaction and Steem offers that in various ways and still has a word of mouth trust system and, the way people interact with each other still drives a reputation position, even if the numerical number on the platform is broken.
What developers and applications should be aiming for is to continually lower the learning curve required in getting up and running and nudging users toward behaviors that will benefit them as the easier and more beneficial the ecosystem becomes, the faster uptake and distribution happens. We have a long way to go in this area but we can see that it is slowly happening as there is more and more collaboration between the technical and the social designers. This way, the UI can be powered by the infrastructure to offer a compelling and enjoyable user experience.
It all takes time to get the various formulas right of course but, we are getting there, block by block. All of us here now are well ahead of the learning curve and, the vast majority of the pack don't even know they are lagging behind us yet, most don't even know we exist.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
Steem is still like a secret project as hardly anyone knows about it. I have no idea how to trade Steem back to money and it isn't important for now. One day it would be nice to test though and then I think the reality of what we have here will hit home.
I have never traded into fiat but I hear it is possible :D
It's not too difficult...Once you get used to it.
The simplest but not the cheapest way to exchange your STEEM for fiat is to use Blocktrades from the Steemit.com interface to first transfer your STEEM into BTC in a wallet held one your phone. The you can go to a Bitcoin ATM and transfer the BTC to the ATM from your phone wallet. You'll have to pay higher than normal fees every step of the way but there will be fewer steps and no bank as a middleman.
The cheapest way is to create an account on any of the major exchanges where you can trade STEEM. What you do is go to the exchange and follow the instructions. You make a transfer to the exchange's Steem account with a memo they give you. Then you go to the exchange again, trade your STEEM for BTC and send the BTC to a local exchange and sell the BTC for fiat they send to your bank account.
There is yet another way to buy STEEM. Not everyone knows that you can buy Steem Monsters cards with a credit card or PayPal. Naturally, the cards can be sold for STEEM. That's how one Nigerian fellow bought his first STEEM.
This is why we meet in person. Last Thursday of the month. Buy a guy a beer. Hand him some cash, he sends you some STEEM. We'll win this thing, city by city, not topic by topic.
This is part of the problem too. While it is normal behaviour to talk personal finances here with Steemians, it isn't in the real world and many avoid spreading Steem because of the cultural aspects associated with an open wallet and public earnings.
It is different, but then if I'm driving around in a Lamborghini, my wealth is visible.
We can know what a person's wallet looks like, but what if it's tempered by a massive, unseen debt like many of the lambo's?
I view a fat stack of SP more like a mansion than an open bank account.
You can draw some conclusions but they're never going to be the whole story.
I agree and I think the more people are here the more will make some kind of mental shift to understand.
Fantastic way of putting it. Your words really hit home for me as I realised I am learning so much. It's only been a couple weeks and although still have a lot more to learn, the technical terminolagy is starting to sink in and make more sense. Have a great day!
For those who are interested, it is pretty fast to get up to speed. Good luck :)
Agreed as I have added depth to my blockchain and cryptocurrency journey thanks to my journey here on Steem. This is why I believe in the value being created here as it has allowed me to learn more than I would have otherwise done both through engagement and consuming content.
Posted using Partiko iOS
While there are forums for other projects, many of them are nowhere near as accessible or transparent.
Right now I am on a steem journey. Where we will end up , I have no idea. What I do Know is the journey is fulfilling in and of itself. Right now thats good enough for me.
What more can one really want from an experience.
Good thinking. When we figure out how to go into a cafe and pay with an upvote, then true adoption will start to happen.
Posted using Partiko Android
I wonder where it could lead.
Lowering the learning curve and the social aspects of Steem is good. Yes. Decentralization is a mixed bag. A year ago I was scammed 663 Steem dollars on Steem. Sadly a Romanian got my master key without permission. At that point decentralization was more a liability as I had no one to go to. Witnesses advised me, but they could not undo the dirty deed. I have not cashed out yet though one day may. At the moment I hope long term to become a dolphin. I still believe in much of what steem is. Blessings- @tarazkp
I remember hearing about that. Hopefully there will be more secure and convenient ways to operate and faster problem resolution in the future.
I also falls in the same way with you. I joined steemit earlier last year with low or zero understanding about crypto and bitcoin and how it works but after spending much time on steemit, i begin to get some understanding about how bitcoin and what it is all about
There are a lot of things to learn here that will be an advantage to know in the future.
Thank you for writing a good post @tarazkp 👏
You may differ, matey, but I can assure you all my actions were by accident (selling most of my steem at $5! wooohooo lol- a total accident of circumstance.)
There is a lot of problems going on at the moment. (with big sp players).
This is to a big detriment to the steem ecosystem, imo - very long term consequences, I think, personally.
.....and I've just had a thought!...(it does happen sometimes!lol)
Your thoughts on my thought's, would be much appreciated...
https://steemit.com/blog/@lucylin/a-solution-to-inappropriate-flagging-ones-based-entirely-on-ideological-differences
You accidentally sold your crypto? or did you intentionally sell and accidentally sold at 5?
...intentionally sold, accidentally at $5
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STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!