It seems to me there has long been some complaining, murmuring, moaning, groaning and gnashing of teeth over the fact that the price of Steem has been lagging for a long time. In fact, we are now a couple of *years* past the token's all-time high, and the price is... well... not very much.

Of course, some of the financial folks will make the argument that we need some functional (and functioning) use cases in order for the currency to start rising in price again. Just having a number of *"social front ends"* is simply not enough to carry this place.

![1027-Boat.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVquJCTK49rRLkAJ9L7ztKTQbj31UoqE34DNoVmpKmHkp/1027-Boat.jpg)
*Where is the good ship Steem heading?*

## *So What Can We Do?*

Seems to me that a very appropriate application for the Steem blockchain might be a good Genealogy server and front end. How so?

Genealogy is one of those things that *require* reliable *"permanent"* storage, because its users and contributors *depend* on being able to access and add data over long periods of time.

Back when I lived in Texas, my friend Ron ran one of the earliest genealogy servers on the web, and one of his primary concerns was maintaining 100% uptime, accuracy and reliability. Which was tricky with 1990's servers. 

![1024-Eucalyptus.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQS3g2S1pqqydT4Jqtbjy33B7vYxDcYs5DA22HRikz4DA/1024-Eucalyptus.jpg)
*Eucalyptus blossom*

## *Why Not Blockchain Genealogy?*

From where I am sitting, genealogy and blockchain technology seems like a perfect match! *Everything* must be recorded, and there's a sense of long term permanence.

Sure, genealogy is hardly *"glamorous"* or *"flashy tech"* but it's a *rock solid* interest that pretty much never wavers in popularity. Like bread at the grocery story, it's always *there.* Maybe it's time for Steem to consider a little more *basic utility* and a little less *bleeding edge innovation.* Or maybe *combine* these...

The Steem blockchain is not only *fast* but it could also easily handle the *volume* of inquiries required by an active genealogy site.

At the same time, most genealogy *"records"* are fairly brief, so block sizes and such would not be a major issue.

![1076-Road.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZckATqbaXJDhRjLC5fQ1UQzGFGScRECpJqf7zDPRzk9X/1076-Road.jpg)
*Path through the forest*

## *And the PRICE of Steem?*

One of the challenges we currently face is that there are a lot of *"sellers"* of the Steem token because the social front ends are all pitched — and subsequently used — as *"income opportunities,"* rather than *"investment opportunities."*

Most genealogy sites are *"pay to play"* and that's pretty much the industry standard. 

In the case of Steem, members of the genealogy site could be *required* to buy and hold some fixed amount of Steem in order to have access to all the features. That would effectively make a bunch of Steem *less liquid* and remove it from circulation for long periods of time.

People don't join genealogy sites to *get rewarded,* they join for *information* and to *be part of a community.*

![0932-Pink-Daisy.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfRztuZuodjAkUcJgtB2CZPouc19pghHKGmHfo6oGU6d3/0932-Pink-Daisy.jpg)
*Tiny weed in the sun*

## *~~Get Paid to Build a Family Tree...~~*

Not so much.

Not a needed incentive.

People who are into genealogy are attracted to the promise of *permanence* and *reliability,* and the idea that the site they have poured hundreds of hours of effort into isn't going to *go away,* because the operators got tired or ran out of money.

What's nice about Genealogy is that *"get paid to..."* is not a relevant pitch, but the very essence of what a blockchain provides IS the pitch. 

Whether contributors would be *"rewarded"* for adding exceptional personal essays about family members past... that would be open to discussion, and a consideration for the app developers. 

My inclination would be more along the lines of a *"tipping* system" where members could leave tips — based on their stake — for information they found particularly valuable.

![0967-Fuchsias.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNg2Reek5VwvsP4xYoqxG3kLgWuPLz5MKyJPn3NTBXufX/0967-Fuchsias.jpg)
*Fuchsias in bloom*

## *Creative Ultilization...*

I am just running this *"out there"* as a suggestion because I feel like we need some more potentially *creative use cases* for Steem.

Not denying there are some good ideas out there, but the *audiences* everyone is trying to reach is eternally centered on *REWARDS* rather than on truly utilizing the features of the blockchain... and matching those features up with a set of users who *value* those features.

And something else to consider about this: It's very hard to SPAM a genealogy venue. What would *"genealogy spam"* even *look* like? Fictitious family members? 

Anyway, thanks for reading... and I hope someone who cares actually *reads* this!

*(Another **#creativecoin** creative non-fiction post)*

***What do YOU think? What are some good use cases for Steem that haven't really been discussed much? Do you think it would work? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!***

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*(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 191230 13:38 PST*
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