My article yesterday stimulated a number of different conversations about the subject of 
That said, if not
To paraphrase the subtle James Carville, "It's the apps dummy".
There are a few things happening that are really giving me even more confidence in my commitment to this ecosystem. I can see the formation of the next step starting to take place. This will really uplift this entire blockchain. At the core of this are many of the applications we use on a daily basis.
It is easy to talk about a big vision, it is something else to back it up. That is why I love those applications that keep innovating and adding. I have no problem with a scaled down application at introduction but, if it is still that way 6 months later, toss it aside. To me, that does not reflect a committed development team.
There was a post the other day that I missed by 
The main message was that they are starting a witness node and are looking for votes. In the next couple days I will write up my views on that and the experiences I had with that application and the team behind it. For now, I want to concentrate upon some of the plans they have.
One thing that caught my attention is that they experienced a 800% increase in users the last two months now topping 72K MAU. That is an impressive figure for an application that is less than 6 months old.
Even more importantly, and a view I agree with, is this:
Now it is time to focus more on creating/maintaining the Steem blockchain to become more scalable and user-friendly based on the standpoint of Steem dApps.
A lot of this has to do with the sign up process that they are taking very seriously.
They already claimed over 1,100 accounts since the Resource Credit system was implement. This is important to focus upon because they get 5,000K unique visitors from outside Steem a day. Converting them to Steemians is a prime-time goal.
Another point driven home is that
One of the main things that needs to be done is to attract users who are not necessarily crypto-enthusiasts.
Here is what was said about that:
Our aim is to develop 1) a new user sign-up system that directly converts generic outside users to Steem app users, 2) a user-friendly on-boarding interface that makes it easy to understand the Steem community and token economy, and 3) pipelines that transfer them from one Steem dApp to another.
Full article:
I am glad to see
I was told of a project that is being developed which is going to reach outside the Steem ecosystem and give content creators, professional ones, the ability to access the Steem blockchain. Without going into details, from the bit of information I have, it seems like a great way to get Steem in front of some heavy hitters.
Here is another account that is loading up on the claimed accounts. 
Of course, it only makes sense since an exchange would want to be able to onboard users. What I like about this is that people who end up on an exchange tend not to be people who are just kicking tires or ended up on a Steem application through a link. If one is on
These are exactly the type of people Steem needs to attract.
My point here is the face of STEEM is starting to form.
It is not any one individual but the applications that are becoming the driving force. Sometimes the best "face" to put forward is the product itself. In addition to the ones already mentioned, we have 
Certainly, the applications will have their own teams or individuals out promoting their platforms. That is what is suppose to happen. We will get to the point, and soon I believe, where Steem is secondary. The entire blockchain concept is going to matter little to the masses.
Do you think they care about TCP/IP or SMTP? Do you think they are concerned how packets are routed or data stored? If not, why would they care about blockchain?
In my opinion, they are not going to.
What they will care about is d.tube, steemhunt, actifit, steemmonsters, busy, steempeak, and any of the other applications that captures one's fancy.
And this, I believe, is what we want to put forward.
2018 was a fine year for Steem. We saw a lot of development which is evident in many of the applications. Let us allow the true stars to shine through.
"It's the apps dummy".
They are what will allow a global reach to the masses.
If you found this article informative, please give it an upvote and resteem.