RE: Steemit – We Need To Talk

[bbilgin]

I see three stages of the tipping system.

Stage 1: Investors tip authors to incentivize the production of quality content.

Stage 2: General public is drawn to the quality content. Some of them buy Steem to be able to participate more than it is possible for the initial 0.50 Steem.

Stage 3: Corporations, institutions, even governments start using Steemit to influence the general public. They need to buy Steem to promote their content.

When conflicting interests start to battle on Steemit, it comes down to who spends more Steem to get to the trending tab and the homepage of Steemit. Think about the elections, candidates, and their supporters.

That interest increases the demand on Steem and higher demand results in higher Steem prices. That's how investors profit from this cycle.

I explained this in greater detail in a post called How to Solve the Reward Pool Abuse Problem Once and For All and that post ignited some discussions so far in the comment section.

Comments

[moeknows]

I'll head over to that thread some time today. My initial questions and concerns are:

This site currently gives money away for free. I am skeptical as to whether content quality will draw more to it. Why would they need Steem to do this model? Why not institute it with FIAT?

[bbilgin]

Why would they need Steem to do this model? Why not institute it with FIAT?

1. With fiat, the investors don't have a chance to profit from the appreciation of Steem against fiat.
2. The witnesses have to be paid. It's possible to create inflation on Steem. If we use fiat, then we need to tax people's accounts to pay the witnesses. People don't like taxes, even though inflation has the same effect.
3. People who are drawn to this system are mostly crypto-enthusiasts. They have a distaste for fiat.
4. Paying people with crypto gives them an extra incentive as they think that crypto-tokens appreciate over time, thus more valuable than fiat.

This site currently gives money away for free. I am skeptical as to whether content quality will draw more to it.

Money is value. Quality content is value as well. Also, it takes significant money to make significant money here. Many newbies realize that after their first week here.

[moeknows]

I think you underestimate the amount of people on here now because of the free money who have became crypto enthusiasts after joining Steem/Steemit. I wonder if they would have come if they were told "They give you a little of money to tip with, then you have to buy it yourself."

The incentive for me to invest in crypto for the purposes of giving it away are slim. I'd rather they just have a paypal account and I could send it to them directly rather than having to go through an exchange (fees) for the purpose of donating it to content I like.

The speculative nature of the coin can only last for so long before it levels out, when it does, so does the site.

Also, it takes significant money to make significant money here. Many newbies realize that after their first week here.

It depends on perspective. I know a lot of people in other countries find the money earned to be rather agreeable. I consider my earnings so far to be rather significant considering my super duper small monetary investment. Of course, I do not depend on income from Steem in any way.

I agree that content has value, but not as much as relationships. The current system encourages relationships much more than yours would.

I know it seems like I'm being rather negative...and I guess I am, but I do appreciate this out of the box thinking. I just have my doubts about its feasibility.

Have you ever tried to get data from @tipu? They basically run a similar service here on Steem already. Perhaps they will be willing to give you data on their usership.