Hello everyone! Here is part 3 of my "Steem Thoughts" series. I hope I can get more people to understand this platform through this series. In part one, I shared my views on the differences between traditional apps and Steem apps. In the second part I discussed whether Steem is a fat or thin protocol.
Today I am going to talk about "value". What is the value of the Steem platform and who is generating it? To understand the value of the platform, we first have to ask ourselves, what does Steem provide which no other platforms can? Steem provides a data layer (blockchain) which is immutable, public and distributed. Hence, this data layer is transparent, attack-resistant and censorship-resistant. This is unlike typical databases where they kept as private as possible. Because of the openness of Steem blockchain, it enabled many creative applications to be built on top of it.
Recently, State of the dApps added Steem to their site. Heading over to site, you will be able to see a list of apps built of Steem. Steemit.com is listed as the top dApp on the list with the most number of users. Not too far below, we see Steem Monsters.
And if you just filter by dApps from Steem platform, we see a whole list of them. This fully illustrates the potential of Steem.
Steem Users vs Steem Apps
Value generators should be rewarded. Steem as a whole is generating value by providing an open platform for developers to build on and users to interact with. Those who maintain the platform should then be rewarded. That is why witnesses who produce blocks are rewarded for their effort.
But value is not just generated by the Steem platform alone. Users and apps also generate value. Users provide contents and apps provide services. Therefore, they too need to be rewarded. However, what I am seeing now is that rewards are too skewed towards users and apps developers are not given a fair share.
While it is important to attract users with rewards, I think it is more important to incentivize developers as well. That is why I have configured @steeveapp as a beneficiary for my posts. Starting with a small 3% beneficiary weight, I hope this is sufficient to serve as a token of appreciation.
Mindset of Steem Users
For Steem to be able to gain mass adoption, the mindset of users needs to change. During the cryptocurrencies bull market, many users started blogging on Steem just for the money. Perhaps it was a decent source of income back then. However, with the market crash, it is no longer a good source of income.
We are seeing a lot of users leaving because the they started on the wrong foot. If Steem apps can start to attract users not with the potential rewards, but with superior user experience, then we can start to see mass adoption.
Conclusion
Value generators should be rewarded. If not, eventually, value generation will start to diminish. I am of the opinion that apps developers should be rewarded more than users. Although users are providing valuable content, they are only made possible when through an application. Therefore, apps developers should be rewarded more.
Do you agree that the rewards are currently too skewed towards users? What do you think Steem apps developers should do to get a fairer share of the rewards? Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!
Links to my "Steem Thoughts" series:
- Part 1 - Traditional Apps vs Steem Apps
- Part 2 - Is Steem a Fat Protocol or a Thin Protocol?
- Part 3 - Inequitable Value Between Users and Apps