This isn't a post reiterating the changes in the reward system and payout times (the dev team have done a good enough job of that already), but rather, taking a deeper look at how those changes are designed to encourage Steemians to approach the network slightly differently. The devs have really analyzed the way Steemit is functioning right now, identified some problems, and made some important adjustments in an effort to make it work even better. It's a great example of interpreting feedback from users as well as the system itself and using the blockchain technology to influence the way people think and behave accordingly.
Here are a few likely changes we're going to see on Steemit from here on out as a result of these changes:
More holding and reinvestment of Steem back into the system
By removing liquidity rewards, the update encourages users to put their Steem to work within the Steemit system, ideally as Steem Power. If people are more focused on putting their rewards back into the system rather than treating them as liquid assets, this will result in more interaction and higher rewards for posting and curation, which benefits everyone.
Fewer post spammers = more well thought out content
By adding a new algorithm that starts taxing the amount of rewards received after an author has passed the limit of four posts per day, the update is discouraging authors who choose quantity over quality, pumping out dozens of quick and easy posts in the hope that one goes viral. Instead, authors will be encouraged to focus more on creating a few pieces of high-quality content each day that will have to rely on their merits, rather than their frequency, to attract votes and get rewards. We can probably expect the standard of content on Steemit to increase on average as a result of this, which will only increase the network's qualitative value overall.
More genuine interaction, and commensurate rewards
The effort to reduce sybil attacks by placing more emphasis on following authors and creating a personalized feed will discourage those who try to subvert the reward limit mentioned above by having multiple accounts, while simultaneously encouraging people to support good authors on a more regular basis by following them. This will likely create a stronger sense of community, and, even better, help to reward consistently good authors whose posts are often overlooked under the current system.
More content of lasting (rather than viral) value
By adding a second payout period of thirty days, the new update will take the emphasis off of engineering a post specifically to check all the viral boxes (e.g. formulaic headline, short reading time, pretty pictures) and will allow longer and perhaps more intellectually challenging pieces to gather a following over time. This will encourage authors to explore different topics and forms of writing, and will help to ensure more consistent payouts for everyone, while also keeping the trending page fresh and allowing more posts to be seen.
Better proofreading and quality control
By preventing edits after the first 12-hour payout period has passed, authors will need to pay more attention to their work before posting, as there will be less opportunity to go back and fix mistakes or make improvements after the fact. This is great for the overall quality of content on Steemit, as it will encourage people to take their writing more seriously rather than simply pumping out content as often as possible without proper quality control.
I'm sure I'm not alone in my belief that these changes are the first of many that are going to drastically improve the way Steemit functions and help it to grow in the healthiest way possible. I'm interested to see how things feel tomorrow once the changes kick in. What are your thoughts?