I was watching 
This realization came not during the main part of the conversation (you can check it out here, by the way - it's the second video), but during the very end.
When asked about the estimated value of his account (over 3.5 million dollars), Ned responds glibly:
Ned: "...I'm excited to see it be worth a lot more."
The audiences laughs (and I must admit, it got a smirk out of me), but there's something that's kind of revealed here.
The people who were smiling and nodding almost conspiratorially and the ones who weren't see very different things when they look at Steemit and the Steem blockchain.
This led me to a very interesting realization: there are different types of Steemians, and their behavior is going to be pretty damn predictable.
The first kinds of Steemians look at the price now and can't really imagine Steem really being worth any more than it is now. These people are looking to build up as much as possible (often, it feels, to some target) and bail as soon as possible - like they're diving off of a burning, sinking ship just before it sinks beneath the waves. These people break what, for me, is the #1 rule of Steemit: thou shalt not power down.
And I'm not saying that because of some concern for the platform or because I don't think people have the right to power down. I'm saying that I made it my rule for a purely selfish reason: I think Steem is really going to be worth a lot in the near future (but we'll get to that in a second).
So these 'take what I can get' Steemians will be the first to leave the platform. And when I say 'leave', I don't mean that they necessarily stop participating and contributing, I mean that they remove the bulk of their value investment by powering down.
When Steemit has its first major spike (probably somewhere in the next year), there's going to be another flurry of exits. These folks are of the 'uncertain' variety. Part of them wants to stay on the platform, but what if the price drops again and never recovers? Better to exit with the tidy sum they made than risk that. Right? Right?!
The ones to leave after them will the 'easily spooked'. They'll take off the moment the next initial spike shows signs of heading in the opposite direction.
After that there are the 'late termers'. These are the commendable people who plan to hold onto their Steem until there is a major spike in price.
Lastly, there are the 'ride-or-die' Steemians. These are folks like me, people who plan to hold onto Steem for the foreseable future (i.e. the next few years) no matter what. And it's these people who, like Ned, were smirking to themselves about Steem's future.
Because I've got to say folks: despite the issues that are currently being dealt with, the future for Steem looks bright. I know people have their reasons for powering down, but I recommend that if you can find any other way to handle your situation: do so.
The next year for Steem is going to be an intense one, and people who've invested now (whether through sweat equity via posts, comments, and upvotes or direct financial investment) stand to gain the most.
We're changing the world folks, and we'll even be compensated for it. Ain't life grand?
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017
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