Steemit Is In Danger Of Self Destruction. Why ReddCoin Could Win

So Steemit, hello! How ya doing? “Great!” you say! Meanwhile you think, "I don’t know about that….." and give it dubious look up and down I’m pretty sure that’s the reaction of 99% of newcomers to Steemit have. Steemit has been so hyped up by alt-media cult leaders and anarchist crusaders. Your expectations are set so high, and then you see this…(and it’s even worse on mobile) ![Steemit Welcome Screen](https://image.ibb.co/dET7nF/Steemit_Log_In_Page.png) And you wonder if you have made a wrong turn to El Dorado? Instead you have landed in this cavernous abyss. Does anyone else feel lonely here? It’s enough to make you want to run back to Stalkbook or CensorTube. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the idea of Steemit. Especially with Fakestream shutting off monetization to anyone on their alt media hit list. But, let’s just say there was no spark of love at hello. And I reckon that is where the majority of visitors would call it quits.

Let’s Admit It

We are here because we want to make a quick dollar or two. If it weren’t for that we wouldn’t be here. Our friends aren’t here to follow. Our favourite news sites aren’t here. The only ones here are crypto junkies, other oddballs, and voyeurs. How many non-fringe interest contributors are on here? Are their followers on here? How will they move across? Sorry to burst your bubble but young miss 20 something, with a large disposable income is too busy making a flat lay of her latest shopping haul elsewhere. But before you protest, because I know you want to, let me bring in ‘exhibit A’. Below is a Google Trends report showing 90 days of ‘Steemit’ searches. ![Steemit Google Trends](https://image.ibb.co/iXbtSF/Steemmit_trends.png) Nope, those related search queries and regions don’t look very mainstream to me.

What It All Boils Down To?

Steemit is not at all geared at the mainstream user. It’s not something you stumble upon and go “Cool, let’s give it a crack”. Heck, even linking a profile picture took me 20 mins on my second attempt from a desktop (my initial mobile attempt failed due to CBF with the extreme difficulty of finding a linkable online image of myself). Let's not even get started on the Markdown post editor. You have to be comfortable with the concept of manually formatting your post in a html style language. The user interface needs to advance pronto if anyone normal is going to take Steemit seriously. A guided interactive induction and populated feed by interest area would go a long way to making people feel welcome. But that’s just the first of many barriers.

Will It Become a Goldmine or a Smouldering Coal Pit?

In the end, whether the platform succeeds depends on the community. The problem I see is that self-serving greed could ruin it for everyone. While the upvote and reward system sounds great in theory, it can be abused – leading to a poor, spammy content and harassment that’s not going to attract the kind of people you want to net. As a professional digital marker, I am painfully aware of how quickly people learn to game the system for their own benefit. That’s why Facebook censorship started…before they took it too far. It was an effort to drown bad content and click bait. The problem here is, the cornerstone of this platform is decentralization. Once content is created, it can’t be deleted. It lives permanently on the blockchain, not to mention Steemit doesn’t give you a delete option to at least hide your posts. Sure, it can get downvoted by the community…but who’s going to do that when it seems the majorities want to keep the wheels spinning on this gravy train. Essentially, Steemit has a spam problem and zero tools to fight it.

What’s The Alternative?

ReddCoin, although nowhere near as advanced is making progress. In case you are not aware some major plugins and integrations are expected to launch this year. This will allow followers to donate small amounts to content creators across many platforms, and reward good content. Instead of attempting to take mainstream social media head on, it’s looking to complement it. I can see lot of content creators adopting ReddCoin much quicker than migrating to Steemit. For one, you don’t need to leave all your friends and followers behind. And two, as monetization is being shut down on YouTube, some contributors will be left almost no other option but to rely on the support of their fans. Unlike Steemit’s reward system, which can be manipulated, ReddCoin can’t. It relies on someone parting with value, and handing it over to someone else. That is a powerful motivation for creating kick ass content. This could even spur an ‘free’ content revival. Lead magnets and subscription funnels could go the way of the dinosaurs. The way I see it, tinker with Steemit if you must but start thinking about how you can put ReddCoin to use soon. ReddCoin may be on the slow boil but that doesn't mean it has failed. ReddCoin is just preparing to run the marathon, meanwhile Steemit is exhausting itself on the sprint. Anyway, I am putting my money where my mouth is. I'm holding ReddCoin for the long term. But I'm also going to stick around long enough here to have a sticky beak...and maybe make some coin along the way. After all a gal's got to make do. PS. No apologies given for my whacky spelling (decentraliZation) I am from Australia, and we did descend from convicts after all.