Smart Media Tokens might be the most anticipated feature set to go live sometime this year for the Steemit community. I'm a budding programmer myself and I'm salivating at the mouth as I think about the insane potential SMT's provide for not just me, but for everyone.
For those who may have been living under a rock, SMT's provide a method by which users can monetize their content and grow their brand community. That's the quick explanation of what it is. When you stop to think about it however, it's so much more than that.
I've been reading the SMT whitepaper which everyone should check out. As I was reading the whitepaper, it dawned on me that entire platforms can be built around SMT's which are tokens that can be given their own names with their own circulation amount. Not only that, but a single platform can create multiple tokens. The whitepaper gives the example of a message board where you might want to have different tokens for different things, but it doesn't end there.
What I'm really getting at is the ability of SMT's to increase one's social proof. Not so much on Steemit (but perhaps, especially if you do something really cool with SMT's), but elsewhere on the web. If you have a blog that receives little traffic and you're putting in a lot of work but you're not getting equal feedback and interaction in return...SMT's could increase your social proof.
What is social proof?
Social Proof Theory maintains that a person who does not know what the proper behavior for a certain situation is, will look to other people to imitate what they are doing and to provide guidance for his actions.
The lack of social proof holds back many a great publisher and content creator. Part of it is understandable simply because audiences online are overwhelmed by the insane amount of content creation that goes on out there and there's a limited amount of time one can use to see everything they want to see. Social proof reminds me a lot of having what's known as "street cred." This has opened the door to an entire field of marketing known as influencer marketing whereby brands, small and large, look to leverage the influence of a highly-popular individuals in an effort to raise brand awareness...or social proof.
Here are some of the mechanisms of social proof...
- Uncertainty: if someone is uncertain about your content, then more likely to defer to someone else they trust or are familiar with to give you legitimacy.
- Expertise: social proof is gained when people deem you, or anyone else, to be highly-knowledgeable of a certain topic.
- Number: the power of the mob and group think. Social proof is gained or lost based on how many other people share, like, retweet, etc your content.
Social proof drives success. It's not the only driving force, but you'd be hard-pressed to find an example of someone who became highly successful without some amount of mass social acceptance. This is why people make such a big deal about mass adoption within the crypto space. Mass adoption = mass social proof.
Smart Media Tokens Will Be the Greatest Boon to Online Social Proof That We Have Ever Seen!
You cannot deny it. SMT's will allow content creators to stop playing checkers and start playing chess. What do I mean by that exactly? Right now, most content creators are playing checkers, including myself. We're trying to get ahead by using old methods that have worn out their welcome and simply don't work as effectively anymore. Annoying ads that slow down site speed and distract you from what you wanted to read...even worse they have auto-play video ads now! Then you have people who ask for tips and donations through websites like Patreon and whatnot. That's cool and everything and it does work for some people, but for most it does not.
The idea of Smart Media Tokens is akin to playing chess in a sea of copy cats playing checkers. It's the newest form of monetization that is the first of its kind. It harnesses blockchain technology to give people the ability to make money simply by promoting your content. I have an idea on how I want to use SMT's, because I WILL be using them. There are some functionality questions that I have that I need to ask a developer about in due time.
Proof-of-Brain is a great concept and Steemit is ahead of the curve when it comes to this mining method. I want to build my own PoB app and I know I will be one of the early adopters who will help SMT's take off. Understand this, the early adopters of SMT's will use technology that most others in their field aren't using. In terms of content creation and app building, that gives you an edge on the market.
SMT's will boost social proof because early adopters will have something that others don't have. It won't stay that way forever, but I also don't expect a flood of websites adopting SMT's early on (like within the first 6-12 months). This means that those of us who are abreasted of the technology that the Steem developers are creating will PERHAPS benefit the most.
So what do you guys think?
Am I right or wrong?
PICTURES
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