I spent a little time poking around on the Steem-Engine site this morning, just out of plain curiosity.
If you read these pages on a regular basis, you probably haven't missed my general skepticism/criticism when it comes to SMTs and various "private" tokens. Now that more and more of these are showing up in the Steem ecosystem, maybe I should try to clarify where my skepticism comes from.
Honeysuckle about to bloom....
The Original Sour Notes
I think the reason I originally soured on the whole idea and didn't share many people's enthusiasm was twofold:
The entire presentation of SMTs/Tokens as "The Great Savior of Steem" came across (at least to me) as a bunch of overinflated hype and bullshit, partly designed as a "buckpassing exercise" to somehow help Steemit, Inc. exonerate themselves from having dropped the ball on a whole lot of other initiatives, and most specifically a chronic failure in the area of community development.
Having worked in the field of Industrial Psychology more than most people, it all looked very much like "Cash Grab 2.0," a new way for people with influence to basically "mint their own 'money' out of thin air," without it actually doing anyone else — and especially the broader community — any good.
California poppy
Yes, I'm in idealist. And yet I am also a cynic who spent too many years in sales and marketing... where the rubber meets the road.
You may have the greatest concept on the planet, but unless you are nurturing and gathering an actual customer base for it, it's about as meaningless as offering the world's best Ferrari engine tune-ups... in a tiny Alaskan village with no paved roads. Basically, nobody gives a shit in the real world that exists outside your carefully fabricated fantasy.
Hey, I'm Allowed to Change my Mind, Right?
In retrospect, maybe my criticisms were a bit harsh, and not fully thought through.
In many ways, SMTs/Private tokens can be a lot of fun and definitely an interesting and entertaining way to engage with an audience.
Close-up of Red Hot Poker
For example, I love @whatsup's "DRAMA" token! Just the other week, I wish I had had some as actual coins to give to our "adolescent" 27-year old daughter, when she was having an utterly ridiculous meltdown over something of no particular consequence...
Of course, that would have required actual coins, to hand out... but hey, maybe that's could be a future development! Some of us still have lives outside the virtual world...
Similarly, @abh12345 — founder of the weekly "Curation and Engagement Leagues" — created the "Engage" token, which also has a relevant meaning within a specific context of the community.
Using these two tokens as examples, what sets them apart is that they seem to have utility, yet stand apart from being attached to a financial value.
And they are issued along very different paradigms than someone simply going "Woo-hoo! Let's issue 21,000,000 'Random' tokens and hope they go to the Moon!"
Heart of a pink wild rose...
The Need for Some BULLSHIT!
But getting around to my wee visit to Steem-Engine, I was actually surprised that nobody has taken it upon themselves to issue a BULLSHIT token, as of yet.
Because we all know there's plenty of that in the world, and people sometimes smear it on quite thickly.
No, I have neither the time nor the inclination to take that one on... but it seems like one "ripe for the picking," for someone with a good sense of humor who's also ready to call people on their shit.
I hasten to add that — much like the @dramatoken — this would be a purely humorous token, not a malicious one.
There might even be different levels... from a single BULLSHIT token for those simply "blowing hot air," to maybe 3 for "blatant displays of ignorance," to 5 for "posting something "serious" without fact checking" up to maybe 25 for "blatantly spreading fake news." I dunno, just rambling on...
Of course, I could also see this becoming the primary currency of exchange between opposing sides in Flat Earth, Conspiracy, Vaccination, Climate Change, Politicos and similar debates...
Scotch Broom
If You Can't Play With Yourself...
...who CAN you play with?
Because that's really all I'm doing here... taking my brain out and playing with it, and perhaps recognizing that I need to give the whole "SMT/Token Issue" a broader opportunity to find its natural place within the community.
Meanwhile, if anyone wants to take the BULLSHIT and run with it, please be my guest!
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
How about YOU? What's your thought on SMTs and Tokens... and what "purpose" they serve in the Steem Ecosystem? Are they just "fun things" (my inclination) or can they have "serious financial applications?" Do SMTs/Tokens merely put one more layer between the token and fiat currency? Do you think a "BULLSHIT" token would be a fun thing to have? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190419 14:02 PST
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