As I watch my SBD to BTC orders on Poloniex, my thoughts drift to my Facebook threads yesterday.
I was having a great discussion with several other fans and early adopters of this platform, Steemit, discussing the merits of this platform and the kind of market it will reach versus the market that Facebook is reaching now.
More than one person pointed out to me that Steemit is for people motivated to create quality content, and Facebook is a massive social media network that meets many other human needs other than that.
I think that is a valid point to make, because it shows two things:
- Steemit may very well be it's own new kind of concept, that will draw off a lot of the content creators on Facebook over time, but may still not cause Facebook to take any real loss, since Facebook provides all kinds of entertainment and easy human connection aside from a platform for content creators.
- The most brilliant social media platforms of the future may very well be those that manage to integrate everything: content creation, free market economic principles that drive how humans connect, entertainment and connection on an easy user interface.
I do want to point out something that I think can be taken as EITHER a slap in the face to the Facebook Empire that Zuckerberg launched, OR a tip of the hat to the value it did add, depending on how you look at it (and I'm interested to hear the feedback of the best minds out there in the Steemit community):
Myself, along with many others, are now capitalizing on (and then re-investing in) a massive audience we worked to generate on Facebook-- while Facebook gets none of these particular rewards, and Steemit gets it all. I never invested (other than my time itself, which arguable IS money) more than $5 actual FRNs in Facebook for some advertising test for a page of mine, I didn't attach my bank account to it to build by audience. Yet I am now reaping the rewards by calling my audience and that network over to Steemit.
I would love to hear from the audience here, do you think that Steemit will at all take even a NOTICEABLE chunk out of Facebook if enough people move over and invest/profit here?
Or do you think the Zuckerbergian Empire is too big to notice much or care? Perhaps Steemit isn't a real threat, but the concept behind it being used to launch a new social media paradigm where more platforms are created that DO topple Facebook?
A friend in my comment strand (he may name himself here if he wishes) mentioned that Steemit is more than likely going to eat into the Reddit audience since it is more comparable, yet I know at least dozens of people who are planning to only post on Facebook to share Steemit posts, until all their audience is mostly gone or moved to Steemit, which would mean Facebook stands to lose at least a FEW major contributors to it, though perhaps not all that major in relation to the immense size of the Zuckerberg kingdom.
I find thought predictions and creative/innovative thinking really fascinating to watch among discussion groups with intelligent and knowledgeable minds, and all of you in the Steemit community are great at it so far as I have seen.
So, my fellow Dragons of Thought, HAVE AT IT BELOW!!!
(someone better comment with the Russel Crowe meme that says "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" after this gets going. )