State of the industry
Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Snapchat are all battling for a market share of the most valuable market in the world - the market of time, each one of these companies gain based on the the number of users they being to their platforms and the amount of time those users spend browsing and consuming content. For the first time in the history of the planet Steemit has come along and we are able to distribute value in a completely different way, allowing the users to also gain from the system itself without the requirement of advertising.
In 2014 there was an article on Business Insider stating the CEO of Snapchat Evan Spiegel predicts the spectacular downfall of Facebook similar to that of Yahoo in the early 2000's - it is my belief that Steemit and the Steem blockchain projects will be the ones to capture this value moving forward.
For some perspective currently Facebook has a market cap of around USD$520.618B (at the time of writing) or in comparison thanks to a recent pull back of the market the total market cap of all crypotocurrencies in existence this shows that we are right at the beginning of the potential for the platform and any market share/user base gained will be hugely beneficial for the currencies. The original idea of giving the power to the people is still sound and the founders of course have the most potential to benefit. They provided us with the brilliant idea of Steem and the platform that brings us all together so it is absolutely deserved.
In percentage terms Steem and SBD market caps together are only 0.2% of Facebooks value at just under a USD$1 Billion market cap!
Development of the Steem Blockchain
In the short time I have been here I have seen more and more of the Steemians who are retained by the platform are retained by the feeling of community. You only have to see the success of initiatives such as Steemfest or to see just how much support the community has for the platform and its place in greater society.
I have seen a great war of words and values between 
UI development and HF20 have great possibility to expand the blockchain to more of the internet and make it easier for newcomers to understand and parkate straight away. If we continue to support the work of the original founders 
How this compares
The Facebook user growth chart since inception in 2004 shows that it hit 500,000 users in 2010, 6 years after inception. It looks as if Steemit just topped 500,000 users at the end of 2017 and its only been around for 2 years! Great progress!
The ranking on AWS graph:
Steemit has been pushing through the AWS ranks like a bullet, just last week it was around 1600 worldwide and is now at 1299 (at the time of writing). Great progress
All from a platform that is still in Beta!
The more I delve into cryptocurrencies the more synergies I draw with the share markets. To announce an ICO is simply an unregulated form of raising capital. Much like going public as a company can through raising capital in an IPO. If we consider Steemit inc. as a direct competitor to the likes of Facebook and the other social media incumbents and if the current growth of the platform is sustainable then the potential of the Steem blockchain is huge as the social media industry is ripe for another disruption.
I wish the development team all the best for 2018 and the possibilities in the future. Many of us will continue to sing your praise especially if we are allowed to continue having an input into the development of the platform and the community.
If anyone would like to contact me to discuss the state of the world, the future of work and Steemit generally, you can find me on any of the following platforms or leave a comment below. Look forward to hearing from you.
Or ping me on steemit.chat
Recently I was in Adelaide and caught up with a few of the #teamaustralia community, as 
I look forward to meeting any fellow Steemians and hearing your ideas for the future. If you are currently in Sydney and would be interested in a meetup are also welcome to contact me. Lets build what we are all here to stay for, the genuine community.