Since the beginning Steemit has been referred to as a social experiment and a truly marvelous one it is.
It would be interesting to hear if the team knew, at the time of creating steemit, of all of the groundbreaking social experiment aspects they would be inviting their future users to take part in.
For instance, the intriguing interactions that emerge, due to visibility of everything, because of the transparency of the underlying block chain.
In other blockchain applications the level of interaction is less than with a social media platform driven by a blockchain.
This is both a blessing and a curse.
Some people are not used to having this quantity or type of information at their fingertips. Or societies are typically not used to this level of transparency.
This produces very interesting dynamics. Because we can see more, our thinking is exercised more and in new ways. Some people see something that surprises them and this may result in a whole new set of reactions.
With this new type of information available it is now necessary for us to apply our minds more acutely and research with a lot more depth to prevent ourselves from drawing the wrong conclusions.
Skimming the surface is no longer sufficient
In this new society we need to check or social baggage at the door, we need to learn a new culture, one of patience and reservation of judgement. We need to take the time to figure out how things work in this new highly transparent world of steemit. This requires a little humility, a realization that we don’t know and understand everything immediately in this new world, we need to check our pride at the door.
Suddenly, because everything is so transparent, we think we know a person and it takes a lot not to hastily judge the differences that are now so plainly manifest.
To add to the complexity of this social experiment is the fact that it has a global reach. This also introduces a potential clash of cultures and ideals. What may be acceptable in one culture and are of the world may be completely unacceptable in another.
Transparency also leads to being able to see many more aspect of our interactions than we are conditioned to handle at up till now. Now we can see thing like wallet contents, (online) net worth, powering down status etc.
These are usually quite alien to us and take some getting used to.
With this level of transparency it is very easy to fall into the trap of comparative ailments. It is human nature to compare, but that brings with it additional challenges.
As we compare we may find that, what we have, is somehow perceived as of less worth than others. This can lead to hurt feeling, which if entertained lead to resentment, jealousy, envy and other related ills.
If somehow we rate what we have as greater than those around us, then the opposite feeling can lead to pride and disdain for “our lessers”.
Neither of these situations is particularity fruitful and the withered fruit that is produced ranges in bitterness to the point of being downright poisonous if indulged in long-term.
We need to step back and adopt a different approach if or strategy is to have any staying power in the new steemit world.
We need to accept that we don't understand everything. We need to become passive and patient observers till we have had sufficient time to understand these new situations we find ourselves in.
