This is my second post on Busy tonight, and not having to worry about formatting and shortcodes allows for my more creative side to explore. With the work required on Steemit.com to build a page of fiction with high quality images, I really don't want to post something easy. Busy allows me to post the commentary or shorter posts without much thought.
I have noticed a few changes on Steemit.com after HF17 & HF18, and we seem to be heading in a brighter direction. Instead of discussing the changes in the hard forks, my thoughts are more on the behavioral outcomes of the hard forks.
There are three behavioral outcomes which hint that the mood is changing to the positive.
1) Users are more free with their votes, especially in comments
My upvotes have jumped to 3 cents, which to me is incredible after months of giving zilch to others. This is encouraging, and I want to upvote more. I also notice that the votes of others have become more generous. The days of receiving 51 upvotes and receiving $0.00 are gone, I hope, and with HF19 perhaps the majority of upvotes will have some visible value. The comments section also seem more active, with some comments achieving hefty rewards. Steemit is not just about content creation, but also the conversation.
2) Ned and Dan are no longer a thing.
This isn't meant to be a dig at Ned and Dan, as they created something very powerful and addicting. But I no longer notice users of the site appealing to our two former omnipresent leaders anymore. Now that Dan has moved onto other priorities in his life, Ned is holding the fort and I'm sure is too _busy _to hangout on _Busy _(unlike me). This is a sure sign of decentralization as well, since changes aren't beholden to two powerful figures.
3) The articles about Whales, Dolphins and Minnows have gone to sea
I don't see users writing about the ills of being a minnow in a sea of dolphins and whales who are hoarding upvotes. There is a lack of Whale clipart that is refreshing! Is it too late for me to introduce articles about Sharks? Now, I see users writing about their lives, or posting short articles about things they enjoy. I think that was the point of Steemit!
Conclusion:
With the increase in the price of Steem, and the wide-spread agreement of changes made in HF17-19, it is intuitive that these are the reasons that users are joining the site in such large numbers recently. But one also can look at the behavioral changes in Steemit users to see that the updates in the last few months have had a positive effect, overall, on the health and success of the platform.
Images:
anurajrv: https://pixabay.com/en/thumb-up-like-sign-hand-ok-good-441938/
GraphicMama-team: https://pixabay.com/en/shark-animal-character-cute-ocean-1454245/