Welcome to the twenty eighth day of the May 30 days writing challenge. If you don't know what this challenge is about, please have a look at the introductory post. Also, at the end of each article I will post the links to all the posts in the challenge (if you're joining the challenge, I encourage you to do the same). Also, if you join, don't forget to tag your post with #challenge30days and also leave a comment with the link of your post, so I can evaluate if you're one of the 3 lucky Steemians that will get a full upvote from me.
Given That Steemit Is Open Source, Would You Start A Steemit Clone? If Yes, Why? If Not, Why?
I asked myself this question many times, ever since the codebase of the Steem blockchain was open sourced. Which, by the way, happened quite some time after the platform was launched, not before, and with quite a few bumps.
The short answer is: No.
The long answer is a bit more complicated. I would have to split the main question in a few smaller questions to give you an idea. So here's how the "detailed" questions will look like, after the slicing:
- Do you have the technical skills to implement the Steem blockchain?
- Do you have the networking skills to put together the initial round of witnesses?
- Do you have the financial resources for marketing?
- Do you see yourself managing (even from a position of a founder) such a big business?
Let's take them one at a time.
1. Do you have the technical skills to implement the Steem blockchain?
Yes, I do. I run a witness node for more than a year and I wrote one of the most popular (if I would have to believe my followers) mashup on top of it, steem.supply. I'm also fluent in a few programming languages (I currently have a day job as a developer).
2. Do you have the networking skills to put together the initial round of witnesses?
Partially. I know I can put together at least 21 friends in the beginning and I can manage them for at least a year. But whenever big money come in, people start to behave unpredictably, so this task alone will soon explode in something very time and energy demanding.
3. Do you have the financial resources for marketing?
Nope. Given the actual size of the crypto market, and the actual size of the social media market, I think I will need a yearly budget of $5-$7 million (roughly half a million per month). I obviously don't have this amount of money and, given my recent personal experiences in working with partners / investors, I would stay away from this way of financing for a while (please don't ask why).
4. Do you see yourself managing (even from a position of a founder) such a big business?
That's probably the most important question of all, weighing more than 50%, in my opinion, and the answer is a very clear "No". I wouldn't take on such a huge task (which means I really know how hard things can go at times for @ned) because I've been there, I've done that. I have 18 years of entrepreneurship under my belt and I've been through long strings of years in which I grew up business from the ground up, hoping to sell them once they take off (which I partially succeeded at). But lately - meaning the last 2-3 years - I adopted what I think it's called a "life-work-balance". I don't consider money (or the associated power and, to some extent, freedom) to be the most important thing in the world. There are other things that I want to experience too and, surprisingly, I realized I can do that from a different, much less involved position. But that's just me.
So, I'm really curious: given that Steemit is open source, would you start a Steemit clone? Leave a link to your post in the comments so I can check it out.
Previous Posts In The Challenge
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty Seven: How Many Comments You Upvote Each Day? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty Six: What’s Your Favorite Tool / Blockchain Explorer for Steemit?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty Five: What’s Your Favorite Posting Platform for Steemit (busy, dTube, eSteem, etc)?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty Four: Name 3 Accounts You Follow On Steemit Because They Are Useful
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty Three: How Many Comments Per Day Do You Post? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty Second: What Is, In Your Opinion, A Worthy Post On Steemit? A Post That "Deserves" Its Payout...
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty First: What’s The Worst Thing That Happened To You Because Of Steemit?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twenty: Who Was The First User You Followed On Steemit? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Nineteen: Name Top 3 All Time Favorite Movies
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Eighteen: IWhat Other Social Media Platforms Do You Still Use? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Seventeen: If There Will Be No Money Paid On Steemit, Would You Still Be Around?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Sixteen: Where Do You See Yourself On Steemit In 5 years?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Fifteen: How Many Posts Per Day Do You Write? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Fourteen: What’s Your Favorite Writing Topic? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Thirteen: Name Top 3 Favorite Cities That You Want To Live In. Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Twelve: What Crypto Asset Will Dominate The Market In 5 Years?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Eleven: What’s More Important For Steemit Right Now: Smart Media Tokens or Hivemind?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Ten: What’s Your Favorite Morning Drink: Coffee, Tea, Water, Juice? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Nine: Where Do You See Steemit In 5 Years?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Eight: What’s Your Most Consistent Hobby For The Last 5 Years?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Seven: Name 3 Things That Must Be Done Immediately To Make Steemit.com A Better Experience
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Six: What Is Your Main Reason For Staying On Steemit?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Five: What Are The Top 5 Crypto Assets You’re Investing In Now?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Four: What Are The Top 5 Most Relevant Witnesses On Steemit? Why?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Three: What’s The Best Thing That Happened To You Because Of Steemit?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day Two: If You Will Get 1000 STEEM Tomorrow, What Would You Do With It?
- May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day One: How Did You Get On Steemit?
- Announcing May 30 Days Writing Challenge: Strengthening The Steemit Community
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
Wanna know when you're getting paid?
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I know the feeling. That's why I created steem.supply, an easy to use and accurate tool for calculating your Steemit rewards |
Possibly after I climb Mt Everest, but not at this time.
https://steemit.com/challenge30days/@fitinfun/i-am-not-cloning-steemit-challenge30days-day-28
It takes a lot to create a platform like Steemit and I have to agree with your answer and used your questions.
https://steemit.com/challenge30days/@maverickinvictus/may-30-days-writing-challenge-day-twenty-eight-given-that-steemit-is-open-source-would-you-start-a-steemit-clone-if-yes-why-if
To beat its network effect, competion would have to be 10x better. So simple clone wont cut it.
I would only consider leaving steem for 10x better platform.
This isn't like an app where you can just toss it out for people to play with. The Steem/Steemit platform has a lot behind it that some users may not appreciate. Ned and Dan had some history that gained them enough respect to attract people who invested some serious money in Steem. Others put resources into mining it when that was still possible. The only clone I'm aware of is Golos that was officially approved by Steemit Inc to set up for Russian speakers. It's still active, but much smaller than Steemit. We've seen how long it's taken for Steem to get to a million accounts and without some known backers that would be much harder.
Of course some people don't like certain things about Steemit and would do them differently, but they may be better off trying to do that within the witness system.
So I'm basically saying I wouldn't.
Easy answer for me so I won't write a post -- not a chance. I don't have the technical skills or time, and I'd rather spend my time and energy making this a better platform than starting over.
Yeah, I'm not gonna write one either because I don't have the skills, etc. as well.
If there's anything I would like to do, it would probably be hard forking and leave STINC behind to make it more open source, but that's just me.
Yaaay Steem has one million accounts.
Meanwhile:
I estimate the real number of accounts on Steemit to around 100,000 thousands, out of which around 60-70,000 are active. But this problem existed on every social media website before.
Yea. Its good thing bots cannot ever be more profitable than humans. (unless they are upvote buying bots)
We have less the 10 thousand "people who matter" here according to @arcange reports and our kill rate of minnows is horrific. This is the biggest problem of the place in my opinion.
As long as you don't do that (and you have enough knowledge in the field), people like me couldn't! They can only just be unconscious if they will try...
I cannot post today because more than that I have nothing to say.
Steemit is the best and should always remain so. So no cloning
No i can't :p I'm not a programmer :p I mean i am but not high level:p
Lack of technical skills, can't
Wow , it all started like yesterday
Day 28 already, awesome and kudos to you
No, I am not a clone on steemit
I do not see the value on replicating something which already exists if you do not add value or focus on a specific niche.
If I wanted to target that audience I'd rather create a new front end and use Steem architecture as a back end.
Here's my post
I ain't that much a tech guy, so to save myself from stress, I will say no.
A Great opportunity two days is back!
Only for 2 days! Hurry up man's
My entry
https://steemit.com/challenge30days/@botefarm/given-that-steemit-is-open-source-would-you-start-a-steemit-clone-if-yes-why-if-not-why-may-30-days-writing-challenge-day-twenty-2b26cbeac398b
Mnope:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@unacomn/30-day-writing-challenge-28-given-that-steemit-is-open-source-would-you-start-a-steemit-clone-if-yes-why-if-not-why
The answer is no :)
https://steemit.com/steemit/@mariannewest/would-i-start-a-steemit-clone
No. My coding skills are so bad, it would take me 5 years to make it
I don't think I can create such one
https://steemit.com/challenge30days/@iyanpol12/day-28-may-30-days-writing-challenge-given-that-steemit-is-open-source-would-you-start-a-steemit-clone-if-yes-why-if-not-why
I don't have the resources or the technical know how to create a Steemit clone, so my answer would also be no.
My oldest son has been preparing to become a web designer and developer, but from what I can tell, he'd need to work on the specific language of the STEEM blockchain, and I sure he hasn't done that.
At any rate, for all of the reasons you cited above, I would shy away from it. Been there done that with businesses, juggling staff, trying to meet deadlines and keep everything afloat. I enjoyed the financial benefits and freedom of being my own boss, but little else. I did not have a budget of $5-7 million, but it was still a sizable business to deal with.
The least fun of which, was laying people off and shuttering the business doors. It's amazing anyone tries to do business anymore, given regulatory climates on both the state and federal levels.
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