I very much like the way you have unpacked and then rationalised the Steemit concept. The question still remains, though, is that adding or removing value? As the anecdote goes: Man driving through Ireland stops and asks the way to Dublin. The answer comes back: "Well, I wouldn't be starting from here!"

Steemit UX is not as good as it should be. Gamifying could bring a change and user experience that people need.

This post has been linked to from another place on Steem.


  - [Advanced Steem Metrics Report for 24th November 2016](https://steemit.com/steemit/@ontofractal/advanced-steem-metrics-report-for-24th-november-2016) by @ontofractal

  - [The Best Virtual Assistant.](https://steemit.com/hypeitup/@kevinwong/the-best-virtual-assistant) by @kevinwong




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@kevinwong is one of the first that proposed to see/threat  steemit as a game !!!
( @dana-edwards insist in GAMIFICATION of steemit a long time a go as well!)

I think also that GAMIFICATION is one key of steemit success!!!

https://steemit.com/steemit/@kevinwong/submit-steemit-to-the-steam-platform-because-why-not

https://steemit.com/juststeemit/@kevinwong/steemit-an-mmorpg-based-on-real-life-wow-so-rad

You just described exactly how I think about Steemit in its current form. It's a social media game and if played correctly has rewards. The fact that the game can lead to monetary rewards is just a bonus.

This idea of reframing it as a game when introducing new users is a good idea. People love games and will "work" to get better at playing a game if they are having fun.

I have managed to get to almost 8000 Steem Power in just under 3 months playing this game and have converted some of my points into about $500 USD just to show my friends this "imaginary money" can indeed be exchanged into "real" money.

The funny thing to me is all money is "imaginary money" when you really think about it.

Interesting concept. I never see steemit this way, but you explain it simple and idea is very good. Everybody will lower expectations and try harder to become successful.

https://img1.steemit.com/0x0/http://gifmaker.me/files/download/home/20161124/14/eSdQSyhzWiXL80zXFcL1Ck/output_Np9H4y.gif

# I like to play this game, and I understand your point.

## GOOD THINKING AND THANKS FOR SHARING @cryptoctopus!

Muy interesante la publicación.. @cryptoctopus Followed and voted! You follow me @Sandra16

I absolutely LOVE this idea. We have been talking about gamifying the different aspects of Steemit, but by gamifying Steemit itself, we will be in a position to place this website as more social and fun for any new comers.

Brilliant idea!!

Steemit needs to have a broad appeal. Some people like games, so making it appear to be one will attract them. I just hope it doesn't descend into clickbait in a dash for cash. It's been designed to prevent that. Even if a million people sign up and click on everything in sight they probably won't have enough influence to do too much damage initially

Well, I hope this comes to pass real soon.i am starting to understand something's better and it is helping me notice need for reframing like you put. And look at you comment section. It is become obvious on steemit that some of #thebestpostsarecomments, thus I finding a way to #savethecomments from drowning into o invisibility!

I definitely love the idea of this, but as some comments mentioned they are completely turned off the term of game (regardless if the principles still apply of not.) I completely agree that we need a better way to set expectations coming in that even though people can just jump in a post (some easier than others right now) it doesn't immediately translate to rewards and there is no doubt a learning curve, some of which is required and some that is not.

I can't remember if it was with you or someone else, but it was recently discussed of a mutable progress bar of basics (signing up to steemit.chat, setting avatar, making first post, first comment, and maybe even first cash out) which could also be offered as a small game like tutorial instead (without calling it a game, just a tutorial.) 

But in the end...we're really at the point of needing to decide a target market. I'd suspect many users already here wouldn't have a huge issue with a few game like elements being subtly added, but are we looking for 
* experienced (even if amateur) writers, photographers, artists, etc. to share their craft
* a (typically younger crowd) of more generic social media users who just want to post (with the now trending #til, #funny, or #news tags)
* more content consumers who truly digest material, upvote and comment
* an ideal driven crowd looking to change the world paradigm, help people/charity, or other future looking/impactful activities
* something else I can't think of off the top of my head

[Note: Imo most people in the cryptosphere already know about Steemit and have either been here (some still here and others have left) or made up their mind that they're not joining. I don't see focusing that crowd as terribly beneficial right now.]

Over time we'll have an easier time bringing in more types of people because of having more established sub-communities, much like people that only visit the trending and specific sub-reddits. But right now, having limited resources, we do need to find that more targeted market we want to start with and  make our decisions around that. 

Personally, I see going after the younger, college age crowd as being our best target. They are more accepting of new technologies (like crypto and the blockchain,) they're already trained in the ways of basic computers/facebook/reddit, they don't have the instilled fear of crypto that many older demographics do, and their typically idealistic and full of passion. The other benefit of this is that we can use content already existing on here to educate the college crowd to crypto (which imo is the biggest longterm hurdle for steemit) and potentially even begin to put together material for open source education on this and other topics akin to [MIT's open courseware.)(https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm) It's worth noting I do see this same group being comprised of both active content creators and consumers. 

[Please don't read this as an insult against any other groups, it's just my view of our lowest hanging and most likely group to convert over to steemit.]

If this is our target group, I'm all for the reframing of Steemit.com itself as a Social Game that can Pay you for Playing....if we are going to target a different group than this, I this it may run into problems (again like we saw in some other comments.) 

Anyhoo, as always, just my 'wall of text' thoughts on the matter. Lol

This is a really good idea and has been suggested by other people too.  I think the gamification would reduce the cognitive load by introducing well researched psychological reward principles into the system.  There is a reason that casinos, gambling sites and mobile gaming tend to use such systems - i.e. they work, and they can make the learning stage a lot more fun.