I'm surprised I haven't seen more about Vice.org here on Steem. I would have expected the front page of Steemit to be a veritable orgy of speculation, adoration, or condemnation!
I first saw mention of Vice.org in a post by @luzcypher and a little later a mention here by @exyle.
What is Vice.org?
This is a major Smart Media Token announcement that is flying quietly under the radar. Vice is billing itself as the "Revolutionary Adult Cryptocurrency built on the Steem Blockchain." Its tagline reads "Get Paid to Watch Porn." The website at vice.org is a solid prelaunch informational page, it seems to have some serious adult industry backing, and it can even be noted that they've taken the step to register the trademark for "Get Paid to Watch Porn." So it would seem this is about as professional and legitimate as it gets in the massive adult entertainment industry.
Vice's blog located at blog.vice.org has some very well written and informative content (insert - I just read it for the articles! joke here) that explains and markets Smart Media Tokens very well.
The Vice.org website also directly links to the Steem profile 
What's This Mean for Steem?
Whether you love or loathe adult content, there is no denying that it has been a driving force in the development and adoption of technology and standards - from the very foundations of the internet to being the deciding factor in physical media formats such as VHS and Blu-ray. It's also big money, and even if you have no desire to purchase some Vice, its success can reflect on the Steem token as a whole. Vice is planning an ICO launch of their Smart Media Token within the next couple months with an estimate of raising $25-$50 million USD - a substantial portion of the current market cap of Steem. The effect on the price of Steem and the visibility and marketing of the Steem blockchain and Smart Media Tokens as a whole could be massive. And in both cryptocurrency and the adult industry... size does matter.
Steemit Inc. has not been the most open in communications and marketing, although they have been improving as time goes on. Through this though, I've never had any reason to doubt that behind the scenes is a flurry of activity and alot of hard working and dedicated individuals. Reading about interactions from the recent Steemfest has reinforced that, and this Vice news is the icing on the cake.
From Vice.org we can speculate about a few things...
- Steemit Inc. has been in contact with initial media partners and worked with them to develop and implement the SMT system.
- News like this starting to leak would indicate Steemit Inc. is dedicated to the timetable for SMT release.
- A venture like this could not be implemented without long awaited revisions to the signup and account creation systems, meaning their improvement is likely imminent.
What's Your Vice?
We all have our own vices... Vice.org may have no appeal for you, perhaps you're addicted to political news or the internet archive of crocheting videos...
Vice.org is just the tip of the iceberg. While it's titillating news, there's no need to be satisfied with just the tip. (Ok, ok, my last tongue in... cheek... reference for the article... maybe) How many more similar announcements are we going to see in the next 3-6 months? How many more users will this introduce to the Steem blockchain? Is your favorite crochet site the next to announce an ICO??? (Probably not, but you can hope.)
It will be interesting to see how Vice manages their token economy to bring it value, and how the system and users adapt and react to what might normally be a cleared browser cache now being immortalized on a blockchain. And if Vice is immensely successful as a first major SMT launch, will others see the potential of the system itself, or dismiss Steem as "just a porn coin?"
