As I travel around the crypto, space, especially messenger apps like Discord and Telegram, I see a lot of the same things taking place. It all stems from the mindset people have. There is too much victimization out there. It is time for that to change.
Crypto-economics is a completely different paradigm. This provides a great deal more power in the hands of the individual than we normally see. We are part of cooperatives where, our stake, makes us part of the process. No longer is one forced to stand idly by.
The behavior I see is the same whether it is EOS, Steem, or Ethereum. Pick any project and visit its Telegram group. You will see the same accusations.
What I see as different with this industry is the fact that people can make a difference. If things are not going as one likes, there are options. The first is, obviously, to bail on the project and spend time elsewhere. We are all free to do that. However, if you believe in what the project represents, and the prospect for success, then get busy.
Here is where this is unique: we all have the ability to make a difference. Yet too many fall prey to asking "what are they doing?". We on Steem obviously learned this lesson by sitting around for Steemit Inc to do something. It wasn't until that fateful day in November 2018 that the community woke up and realized we were responsible.
Let us look at what happened during the bear market.
Steem was up near a couple hundred thousand accounts posting. Certainly, there were bots and spammers, so let's cut that in half. We will presume there were 100K true posters. Where did they all go? They left because they were not being paid a fortune on each post. The bear affected their attitude. STEEM, like most other tokens, took a plunge.
Today, there are probably 15K people posting regularly. These are the ones who are intent on keeping Steem going. They are doing all they can to ensure the success of this platform. At the same time, we see hundreds of developers banging out code that is leading to more applications. In other words, there is a core group who are dedicated.
What about the other 85K? What would think look like if they were still active here? How would things be if the 15K I just referred to was 100K? With all the struggles of other platforms, that would certainly make Steem stand out a great deal more. Perhaps STEEM might even be a top 30 token if those people were accumulating stake.
This shows that the success or failure is within our control. There is no passive sitting around and letting other do the work. Sure, there are passive opportunities from the sense we can support projects financially. However, this is often more to do with time and the fact we cannot give attention to everything that we feel has possibilities. Hence, we are obligated to make some choices as to where we give our time.
People love to be victims. It is a way of feeling empowering. Come to a platform, or a project's Telegram group, and complain out awful the things are. The sad part is all of this is crypto-economics already empowered everyone. We are free to add to any decentralized open blockchain.
There is a saying "be the good you want to see in the world" (and many variations of it). Here, we all have the opportunity to be the success that we want to see. It is our actions, collectively, that determine the success or failure.
In a housing cooperative, all are tied together. Even though individual homes are owned, the land and common areas are usually held collectively. This is a nice example of how things work. One cannot expect the co-op's board to ensure the success of the community. Each resident needs to keep his or own house up to par. It also means that people might need to pitch in and pick up loose trash or clean up yard debris. There is a collective incentive for each to do this.
With power comes responsibility.
Quite simply, we are all responsible. This is not something most want to hear. They complain when they lack the power to do anything and have to accept things as they are. However, when power is granted, they fall prey to old behaviors.
This does not mean that every project is going to success. Quite the contrary. There are many projects that, even if not scams, are just bad ideas. We also see ones where the individuals involved do not have the expertise to pull it off. For this reason, it is imperative that each of us is selective about where we decide to spend our time and efforts.
However, once one determines what is viable, and does see a good chance of success, it is vital that individual help out where needed. This is the responsibility that comes with having stake. That does not mean making it a 24/7 situation since that is not practical for most. Nevertheless, it does mean getting involved and contributing where one can. All positive actions build upon each other.
Early adopters have the toughest time because a change in mindset is required. This is not something most of us are accustomed to. The scarcity economy is set up to ensure that the majority of us are slaves. Even in those situations where we do have some power, the system operates better, for those in charge, if we do not exercise it.
The exact opposite is true in crypto-economics. We all have power and it is evident is we are paying attention. There is always something we can do to enhance the projects we are involved in. Over time, the collective efforts of hundreds, even thousands, starts to add up.
That is the benefit of having stake. Those who are the users also have power. We do not see this with Apple, Facebook, or Amazon. In this situations, we really have little impact.
In the world of cryptocurrency, we all have the ability to affect things. Even by our presence here, we are starting the process of change. That is, in my opinion, only the bare minimum. One of the biggest changes from the present economic system is we have the ability to influence whatever we get involved in.
The question is will we?
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