Kayton's Law states that as long as there is no mechanism or vehicle that encourages or empowers users to willingly give up their internet anonymity then the community is destined to fail as a mass market social platform.
The (Un)intended Effect
Steemit has either wittingly or unwittingly successfully adhered to Kayton's Law and I find that just incredible! First let me give you a background of the Law. The Law comes from my personal friend, Keith, but we always call him Kayton (due to various reasons). He once made a very interesting comment about how many platforms that want to be social often struggle with the vitriol and toxicity that naturally comes from internet anonymity.
The Law Explained
Kayton said that in order for a social platform to succeed and reach the mass market they need to find a way to make users belief that it is in their best interest to give up their internet anonymity. He argues that people turn more rational once they know that their real self are being put out there. By removing that veil of anonymity your are effectively removing a lot of the hate, vitriol and spam. This will therefore entice new users to check out the community as it becomes a more and more inviting place.
When Kayton was mumbling these words in one of his usual rants I was simply gobsmacked with just how accurate the law actually is. Just take a look at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. All of these platforms encourage users to show pictures of themselves and share their real selfs.
Steemit & Kaytons Law
And Steemit does this in an excellent way by having the "introduceyourself" section. By having lots of these posts upvoted it encourages new users to do the same. Which in turns makes gives the Steem community mass market appeal. Which in turn removes the problem of internet anonymity by a large chunk. It truly is brilliant!
Just seeing Steemit adhere so much to Kayton's Law is something that I find truly fascinating. Although the law is not perfect, I find that reddit lies in direct contrast with the law I find it to be incredibly applicable for Steemit.