Witnesses we need action now.
The current waiting time to sign up is now turning into a deficiency for the entire system. Sorry, just woke up and this has been brewing for a while and came to a head yesterday evening.
(It doesn't need to rain.)
For those who don't know who I am, amongst many things, I am based in Lobitos, Peru. A historic coastal town that is growing rapidly in popularity with tourists. It is one stop down from the gateway town of Mancora. Basically there are tens of thousands of travelers from all over globe passing yearly through the region. I also bake bread, which seems to be keeping a lot of people happy here and I am stoked for it.
Now you throw in Steem blockchain to the mix and that's when it gets interesting. Travelers passing through for days to weeks at a time, me sharing bread and conversation. Quickly the subject turns to Steemit when I see them on their mobiles scrolling insta and face. Days pass by, they ask more questions about Steemit, I tell them, they get more intrigued, but they are still waiting for access. Its like looking at a child who is fixated on the presents under the tree. You tell them on Christmas, yes it is yours (potentially) but you can't have it yet and you might have to wait for weeks.
Last night a traveler from France, who already spent weeks and weeks in Lobitos. Left town a couple of weeks ago and came back yesterday. She came up to me and said was still waiting for her wallet access. I didn't know what to tell her.
Guys come on, please. I dedicate a lot of energy to sharing, educating and guiding countless travelers about Steemit. But this whole debacle of waiting nearly a month for access is getting on the verge of ridiculous. I understand if were up to a few days. I could still guide new users with wallets through the Steemit ecosystem. For those staying longer, I would go into all things Steem blockchain and expand into other projects. Everyone is all fired up to get going, they are all travelers and the majority aim to be digital nomads.
Ok, yes you can get a Steemit account if you acquire some Steem to get your user handle. But I am not made of Steem or SBD and my resources are too limited. Then I think a lot of us are overlooking the fact: that the vast majority of people outside our Steemit community have barely heard of cryptocurrency or blockchain. Now you want people to get into something far more complex (in their minds) to access something that they can so easily relate to and are impatient to acquire for themselves. That something is Steemit, but why on earth is a platform that is the easiest gateway into this new digital world, making so bloody difficult to come in!??
Signing up is only the half of it, then it is the guidance, the explanation of the ecosystem and showing them the ropes of it all etc. Basic training you could call it, but then they go onto do the same with 10 people and you see where I am coming to.
Honestly I have a captive audience here in Lobitos, but by the time they leave, they are still without access and I feel I am not maximizing adoption efficiency. Help me out and by doing so it will help everyone else who is feeling they same way as me. A little frustrated and the feeling of unnecessary ineptitude.
Solution?
I am not a programmer or coder, but we need a relatively simple solution to lift some of the burden on the current sign up system. I want to be able to sign people up on the spot and then I can dedicate my time to them. I understand on the upcoming hard fork, inactive accounts will have their delegated SP removed. Great, can I get people to sign up in minutes and if they don't take to Steem, then it doesn't really matter. But catching that enthusiasm, nurturing and guiding that for the few days or weeks they are in Lobitos. This is crucial. This will give that new user a much great chance of staying on the platform and continuously contributing to. A new user armed with the basic know how and ready to share with others in the same way. Nah, sorry! Sign up and we will get back to you. Is kind've getting the feeling.. Don't call us. We will call you.
I hope you can see the dilemma here. Do we want more people using Steem? Do we want a higher user retention on Steem? Are we about finding solutions to problems? I think I can safely say a resounding YES.
So could we create, like you have witnesses, another group called for example networkers or community builders. With the simple task of doing a Steem ambassador does, but give the ability to create accounts on the spot and spend time with the new user. Of course you wouldn't hand this ability to anyone, but could you please consider the feasibility.
I am meet dozens of people monthly here. I tell them all things Steem as how could I not. But waiting nearly a month is putting people off and is wasting valuable time for knowledge transfer. I know they will get their wallet access eventually, but then they are long gone and probably amongst very very few people who know Steemit. We all know how daunting the whole ecosystem is at first. A little human to human support on it would have been very welcome.
I open to suggestions, but I could really do with some help on this. I see Lobitos, Peru turning into an incubator for Steem, but we need quicker sign up access. Please.
Happy weekend everyone,
If you would like to read my posts, then find me here @intrepidsurfer
