Were arr you?

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for this... it's definitely interesting to hear things from your perspective.

I've often wondered this, and I hope it's not rude to ask, but what revenue streams would Steemit Inc have as protocol developers?  Would it solely be the conversion of Steem to fiat to pay the bills, and would that Steem be from the current stash or would there be a way to generate more for the company?

> But I urge everyone to bear in mind that there is a big difference between "ordinary users" and "developers." And if you don't agree ... let me guess ... you're a developer ;).

This was a good post to read. I did mention in a comment on another post that steemit needs to figure out who it's customers were, and get a small focus group together, (I forget where and the complete gist of it all). The important thing here is that **You** are thinking about *who* the customer base is, and I find that to be very good news. There are many diverse customers, the ordinary user, (myself), the blogger, (we want ads people), the developers, the gamers, the internal business people (we have votes, botes and I have loans for you people). and we all have different wants, needs, and desires of how steem should work. Very glad to see your post.

The focus on STEEM seems right in so many ways.  I'm not sure how general the user base can be right now.  There are so many ways to access the blockchain, it takes some sophistication to understand it.  I think STEEM is basically still for the cyber-crypto-libertarianish-geek with some international, artistic, and other non-conformist elements.

It might be worth wading into the waters of the culture war being that controversy generates views.  There's this huge debate happening between established Social Media giants and Gab.  Irrespective of what anyone here thinks of that platform - I happen to think it's decent - Gab's controversy is generating MASSIVE amounts of publicity and contributes to it's skyrocketing membership.  Day after day, Steem stays away from defending the freedom to speak and the freedom to hear controversial content.  I think this is a spectacular, missed opportunity.  I for one think that Steem and blockchain social media sites have the power to render censorship ineffectual and this should be central to Steem's mission and public face.

Here are two, count'em two "freebie's" 
1) To-much-kool'aid ... steem is sick but not dead yet. When you move off AWS servers your risk for substantial hacks goes WAY up. Big institutions who spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year are getting hacked. DO you really think a small company that can't afford 2 million a year operating costs can protect there data from hackers? I STRONGLY recommend staying on AWS for safety.

2) Steems runway is getting shorter by the day. Generate excitement again ..... that is steems only way out. If you want some ideas let me know. 

BTW how do you like Jet Blue I have never flown with them?

_Imagine, for example, that the only people who "used" Steem, were developers?_"

That's not hard at all. Getting a straight answer  is like pulling hens teeth.  If we asked 'what time is it' , you told us not only how to build a clock but the entire history of chronological devices. 

Yeah like that.  If you can't dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with bull shit.




 _I think that would destroy most of its value_. 

Gee...ya think?

My two cents:
1. lower the operating costs significantly.
2. Get different streams of income for steemit inc to cover the costs of servers and payslips; just selling steem @ whatever price is a totally unsustainable business plan.
3. Realise that it is in fact unsustainable and act upon that knowledge.
4. Reveal an updated course and vision for steem an steemit inc.
5. Get the laid off team back on board.
6. Focus more on steem and bring in investors once SMTs are ready.
7. Create lots of collaborations with other companies (not necessarily crypto companies) Quora would be a perfect fit for example:
Quora is a magnificently brilliant and simple site, where people post questions, and provide answers to others’ questions - for free. Why not tokenize this? This site has 190 million users...

Hope you read this. Thanks

> It may seem obvious to some, but the challenge is that as the people who architected the protocol, we feel we have a lot of insights into the amazing types of applications that people can build with it.

Are you guys willing to share some of these ideas with the community and see what the community will do with it? 

Please share the knowledge and use the Steem community it's such an opportunity.

As an ordinary user for a year on Steem, it seems like the company is focusing more to take developer as 'users'. That explains too why the Steemit interface has been subpar for so long.

Posted using [Partiko Android](https://steemit.com/@partiko-android)

Hi @andrarchy ! Thanks for your post. There seems to be a lot of concern for the confusion between steemit\steem etc. I am sure the Company has considered re branding as part of the re structure. Here is a real world case where we (goldmoney) implented a re branding from “Bitgold” to “Goldmoney” to avoid confusion with Bitcoin  couple years ago : https://www.itbusiness.ca/news/bitgold-reaches-1-million-users-rebrands-itself-as-goldmoney/72445   While the rebrand was painful at the time, 2 years later it’s a distant memory and our brand identity is far more clear. Is that something you all would consider?

Well, I could've written a new comment for this one, but I'd rather just copy and paste my [previous article](https://steemit.com/writing/@hitmeasap/a-special-guest-who-says-10-words) instead. **Here goes:**

---

> First of all, I don't really like the thought of having a special guest who does literally nothing. And I'm talking about what he does during the ~55 minutes he is there. 1 word here and 2 words there. I didn't bother to count, but I think he said 10 words in total. - What's so special about that?

> It looked more like Ned was in need of a wingman during these harsh times. The majority of the stream felt like a bunch of insecurity, even though Ned shared his vision and a ton of really in-depth answers for various things. I liked many of the answers, but the overall feeling I felt was insecurity.

> Even though we got several answers, there is one thing that's bugging me more than anything. You're still talking to the "experts". For how long will Steemit.com be available? - That's a question I think should've been answered, because it feels like Ned is dropping Steemit.com.

> Again, without, according to my interpretation, a thought of the "average users" on here. Like I mentioned in my previous article, we need to focus more on the "average users" rather than the experts. Most people will never become crypto- or blockchain experts, because most people are using Steemit.com just like they would use Facebook or Twitter.

> The only reason for these people to use Steemit.com, is due to the chance they have to earn money. And that's a fact. People in general doesn't want responsibilities, and to put pressure on the little guys are ridiculous. If you're going to talk about the blockchain, and the amazing things Steem have accomplished and can achieve, you should talk to the experts directly. Not do a live stream and talk with the average people, in "expert language".

> It only mess with people's heads even more. Especially during these "dark hours". How are they supposed to react to these things? Do we want people to leave Steemit? If that's what we're trying to accomplish, we're succeeding.

> Reduce costs. I get all of that... But seriously. Fire 70% of the organization in an attempt to reduce costs... Didn't you rake in enough rewards during the highs? When SBD was at $8 or whatever? Didn't you save a single cent? Do STINC rely on crypto entirely? - It's a business.

> A non-expert, like me. A random user, would think that STINC would've been able to save up a shit ton of money to at least run the entire thing for at least a year even with 0 income.

> - I guess I was wrong.

> I have already received questions on Discord from other non-experts asking me about their rewards. They wonder what happens to their rewards if Steemit.com dies... They wonder if they will ever be able to cash-out their earnings if Steemit.com vanish and they wonder if there will be other options for them to earn Steem and/or SBD further on...

> This is what live streams like this brings up.
Frustration and anxiety. People aren't familiar and comfortable with the "expert language" being used. I don't mind these discussions and I'm glad we're able to see some transparency, but we need our leaders to trim down all this tech-talk. We need leaders who're able to communicate with the "average user" in a way so that even a kid can understand.

> That's why people use Facebook and other crap-platforms. Because it's easy to understand. More or less everything with Steem and Steemit is difficult for these "average people" to understand, and even though Ned is doing a relatively good job with these live streams, he doesn't communicate with the small kids on the block, so to speak.

> And that's just one of the issues we have.

> **Mass adoption?**
That will never happen as long as we can't talk and explain things in layman words. The closest thing that will happen, is that we'll get a bunch of people here, who're interested enough to become experts. And they will either invest or grow rapidly due to the excessive support they will get for being experts. Meanwhile the little guys will continue to leave.

> And where's all the mobile apps? - Should've been dozens by now.

> Advertise Steemit, Steem or whatever you want, but make sure to bring in the proper people. Steem/Steemit is not about quality content. It's all about money, and these live streams shows just that, because that's literally the only thing that these "average users" will understand.

---

While I'm at it, with the risk of repeating myself, I'll share a recent [comment](https://steemit.com/busy/@hitmeasap/re-taskmaster4450-ned-less-is-more-20181130t133311631z) of mine too:

---

> Like I've pointed out in both my previous articles, we need to hear things in layman words. The "expert-language" being used doesn't work. At all.

> This recent live stream... Having a special guest who says 10 words in total before he leaves ~55 minutes later... Looks like Ned was in need of a wingman during these harsh times. Nothing special about that guest at all.

> - Which is disappointing.

> The majority of the users on Steemit are non-experts and will never become experts. They use Steemit the same way they use Facebook and Twitter. They share things with one major difference. On Steemit, they have the chance to earn money. That's the only reason for these people to be here. To constantly being fed with all this "expert-talk" doesn't do any good. It gives experts and "advanced" users a better understanding of things, but the majority of the people end up being even more miserable and anxious.

> To hear that Steemit.com is about to die doesn't make things better for these people. I received several messages on Discord within minutes after the live stream was over.

> I got questions like:
What happens to my rewards if Steemit.com dies?
Will I ever be able to earn more Steem and/or SBD if that happens?

> People doesn't understand the difference between Steem and Steemit, and that's a huge issue. An issue one should've been focusing on from the get-go. You can't rely on the average users to get a better understanding. You need to trim down the "tech-talk" and put things into layman words so a kid can understand. That's the only way you'll be able to spread the word and get people to jump on board.

> Even though I personally enjoyed and liked many of the in-depth explanations and answers Ned gave us, the average user doesn't understand a single thing better. It worries them even more, and that's a big problem.

> Are we looking for mass adoption or are STINC searching for a different audience? When will Steemit.com die? To hear that the CEO has fired 70% of the people doesn't make things better... It gives those who already understand certain things an even better explanation, but it brings anxiety to the average users.

> I still love the opportunity Steem and Steemit have given and still gives me, but things are going downhill, and has been going downhill for a very long time. - None of these things comes as a surprise to me.

> I don't blame Ned personally or anything like that, but the lack of leadership and understanding of the audience is and has been terrible since the start. It seems that STINC never knew their audience, and that's the biggest problem.

This is such a great overview of the problem.  I agree completely and see steemit.com as albatross around the neck of the blockchain.  It would be best IMO to hand over the development of the interface steemit.com to the community, with a rename of the fronted to something else and just have steemit.com as a portal which has links to the various generic front ends and more specific DApps .  Otherwise we are just stuck with the steemit.com = STEEM perception which is so pervasive in the market at the moment.

Good hearing from you. We always like it when you write. 
Anyway, yep let us create awesome apps and force us to not be dependent that will make us stronger projects and companies. And if you still do want to assist small projects give them limits that push them to have a bigger game plan that means they can't be dependent forever. 

In the end you guys are the only ones that are doing blockchain development there's plenty others doing apps and even some that are more than willing to step up to help with API. 

I still cannot wrap my head how to develop applications on top of Steem which are not social networks. The API to interact with the blockchain are only social network-based (follow, vote, etc.). 

Or am I missing something?

I'm a developer.

Is the idea to close steemit? If not, RC's are dumbest move to grow social media platform I have ever seen.

People rarely join a social media platform, to be then told that they are limited in there  communications  to other users...
..they get penalized for ..._interacting on a social media platform_.
That's a new one...

It's beyond illogical...

I think the toughest step is to first realize there is a problem which you have done.  While maybe being slightly late to the realization, I believe that the value created by the community and its passion for the protocol will allow there to be assessments as to how the roadmap will need to change.  I encourage you to really integrate with the thinking of the community who will be the fuel behind executing any type of plan in the future.  I look forward to seeing how the roadmap develops as there is still a large opportunity to leverage the ecosystem that has been built thus far.

Posted using [Partiko iOS](https://steemit.com/@partiko-ios)

Great article @andrarchy, running a business can be hard but its crucial and critical to identify your customer.  Good to see that has happened.

I am not a dev and always felt not being a dev has put me at a disadvantage on steem, obviously devs argued that was not true.

My fear is, as a creator and an experienced steem user, many of the current apps are not sustainable without steemit incs delegation.  Some have no plans to really work on on boarding and most  also have  not much in the way of business skills and the other skills needed to make their app a business.  They are devs focusing on a product, just like steemit inc..  I don't know steemit inc delegation policy, but I think its in need of review.  at the end of the day, this SP was meant to be non voting SP.  If the developers are not going to actually start growing a business then its a waste of the rewards pool.  


So where does that leave the creator?  Well I still see it as an opportunity.  As a blogger prior to steem I know the value of owning content and not letting a third party have control.  For Example Dlive had control over storage of replays and as I did not move with them, well I could have easily lost my content, many people did.

@steempress-io on the other had has no control over my content, if they go, my blog stays.  This is very important, relying on third parties to hold your content (and earnings) is control I want to give to no one.  I’m not leaving my self at the hands of someone else’s decisions.   

As a content creator, I am still excited.  As a business woman I am still concerned however as a steem user I am still shilling :-)

Thanks for the article.

Ho Ho Ho! @andrarchy, one of your Steem friend wished you a Merry Christmas and asked me to give you a new badge!

<table><tr><td>https://steemitimages.com/70x70/http://steemitboard.com/@andrarchy/christmas2018.png</td><td><p>SteemitBoard wish you a Merry Christmas!<br>May you have good health, abundance and everlasting joy in your life.</p></td></tr></table>

To see who wanted you to receive this special gift, click [here](https://steemit.com/christmas/@steemitboard/christmas-challenge-send-a-gift-to-to-your-friends#@jeffjagoe/re-steemitboard-christmas-challenge-send-a-gift-to-to-your-friends-20181222t201034757z)!

<sub>_[Click here to view your Board](https://steemitboard.com/@andrarchy)_</sub>


**Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:**
<table><tr><td><a href="https://steemit.com/christmas/@steemitboard/christmas-challenge-send-a-gift-to-to-your-friends"><img src="https://steemitimages.com/64x128/http://i.cubeupload.com/kf4SJb.png"></a></td><td><a href="https://steemit.com/christmas/@steemitboard/christmas-challenge-send-a-gift-to-to-your-friends">Christmas Challenge - Send a gift to to your friends</a></td></tr></table>

Maybe it's just too early for Steemit Inc to take on everything. I do think it's important that the Steemit site is kept functional and perhaps enhanced as it's often the first experience people have of Steem and I actually still like it, with some Steem Plus enhancements.

I've not looked into developing on Steem yet, but I hope there are good resources for and communication with those who do. We need to see lots of cool apps built on it to attract the next wave of users. I still think there needs to be the right branding so that people realise there is this range of apps. Someone who joins Steem Monsters may not realise there's also video, blogging and other apps available from the same account.

Hey Andrew, 
I think that focusing on the protocol to facilitate devs is a good choice. What I am hoping is that it will encourage much more outward facing development than inward that aims to only draw from the inflation pool.

SMTs I think were a decent way to encourage this as it separated applications and gave them incentive to innovate for an external audience by leveraging the infrastructure to be successful in their own right. This in turn would pull people into Steem based on interest. 

A few weeks back I revived an idea of [locking stake](https://steemit.com/steem/@tarazkp/locking-stake-for-100-passive-income-improving-content-helping-apps) which could be a way to tie investors in to Steem to be leveraged by apps for development purposes which could possibly tie into the separation of user group with investors and developers working on the Steem layer but creating for the practical user layer on SMTs. 

The separation of needs is important in the development process and it is something that is getting blurred in the protocols as there are users who cross the boundaries of several groups. Investors, developers, contributors and consumers each need to be catered for but there is no line of best fit that satisfies all so creating some harder division to define spaces will also encourage users to better find their place and behave according to which space they are occupying at the time with greater understanding. 

Thanks for the update, you write well and I would like to read more of this kind of thing in the future.

Powerful words Andrew!

I found the livestream of high value, even though I would have preferred it to be a bit longer and to have your voice to be more heard.

Now, I personally believe that it's important to focus on thy own strength. For example, I thought about doing blockchain development - learning it so I could be of value. But the truth is: it would be totally uneffective.

I would have to learn a totally different way of coding, which would take at least 1 year to be good enough for blockchain code.

So instead, I'm focusing on doing what I'm good at and what Steem also needs: dApps.

With that said: I think the decision for Steemit Inc. to focus completely on blockchain development is perfect and I wish you guys all the strength to pull through this time.

I know, @ned, you and the whole team - you're also just humans and it must be rough having to see 70% of the team leave.

But sometimes - rough transitions are needed to focus on what matters!

This explains a lot of things. Thank you

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