I've read several posts/comments lately with suggestions on how to enhance Steemit by adding ways to turn it into another link aggregation site or news aggregation site. The argument is that Steemit cannot be popular without millions of users and link aggregation.
WHY?
Who would profit from turning Steemit into another link aggregation site? It won't be Steem or Steemit. I see people commenting that Steemit needs to aspire to be another Reddit.
But who is profiting from Reddit? It's not Reddit or its users. Reddit still isn't making a profit.
Who makes the profit: Youtube, Imgur, CNN, NBC, WSJ, NYP, and every other site that they aggregate links from.
Well, it's not about the money...
Really? I've read posts on various themes that it's not "fair" that people are not being upvoted when they post articles that include plagiarism, copyright infringement, or reposting creative commons content. There are a lot of people working hard on producing original content that deserve a lot more recognition than the time it takes to repost something you found in your internet travels when you don't add anything to it.
If there is no profit in it then why Steem? Why create a cryptocurrency to support Steemit if it's not about the viability of creating a platform where users are rewarded when they contribute by either posting content or curating content.
Don't kid yourself, in the end, it is about the money. It is about creating a successful platform that will benefit the Steemit Community. If you want to be part of a community then you need to ask yourself where you want to see that community in 5-10-15-20 years.
Would you pay someone $0.01 for this:
Really, would you go to a site, sign up, give them your credit card, and then let them charge you $0.01 every time you upvote a post like this?
Steem isn't free money. Yes, it's created out of thin air but it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
I'm not going to pay someone a penny to upvote this. It's not worth anything to me. What's my incentive? I'm going to get back 25% of $0.01 which is nothing for curating at best. I'm going to make 10% interest on my $1.00 worth of Steem per year.
What's my incentive to publish content? None, it will get lost in the clickbait. What's my incentive to post links? None, too many people have already created bots to do it.
$0.01 per viral post.. How could that happen?
Because the whales will have exited the building, followed by the dolphins, and the minnows. Either that or they are regretting being bag holders when Steem is worth 0.00000010 BTC because the site has turned into nothing but another clickbait site disguised as a link aggregation site that drives traffic to external sites that profit from Steemit's users base.
Wait.. what about all those posts that were making big money? Someone made $10,000, right?
This is an oversimplification but here it goes. My post goes viral: I get 5,000 SBD trading @0.00136000, That's $4,283 USD. My SP is now worth 5,000 SBD (Which is valued at $4,283 at this time). Let's say that my upvote is worth $0.43 USD at full weight (this is a fake number, I'm not going to try to figure out the real number).
Next year Steemit turns into the next Reddit, no one posts content worth paying for, no one invests, and the majority of users involved run bots, post personal content (are you really going to pay your friends for what they currently post on facebook?), or are commenters/curators.
What happens to my viral post? I get 5,000 SBD trading @0.00000010 for $0.31. My SP is still worth 10,000 ($0.62). According to my previous scenario my upvote would be worth $0.000031.
Site vs. Community
Do you want to see a site that looks like Reddit with 80 million users where those who contribute make $0.01 USD per post if they find popular links or have their own group of loyal followers?
Or do you want to see a community with fewer members that works together to be successful and helping each member earning a few hundred USD to thousands of USD a month?
Steem is one of those rarities in the cryptocurrency world. It is developing a "real world" use today that is deployed worldwide that isn't a currency for trade or gambling.
Steemit isn't going to be for everyone.
Even if Steemit becomes an awesome original content community, I may decide it isn't right for me. Or I may decide that my only role will be investing if I believe in the community.
Right now I'm dusting the rust off my writing skills which are REALLY rusty. I have a feeling my grammar is horrible, it's been a lot of years since I took an English class. I also write too much. I can't seem to express myself without writing a lot! I write about things that catch my interest, irritate me or that have happened to me and I hope people read it.
I also took typing when we actually used typewriters and there was a double space after the period. So you will find me reverting back every once in awhile.
If the community decides tomorrow that his should be another Reddit site, then this definitely isn't going to be a place for me even if I am wrong and people will still be willing to invest in Steem.
If you think a link aggregation site based off Steem/Steemit could be successful? Give it a try.