This started as <a href="https://twitter.com/lukestokes/status/1144961056487485441">a tweet thread here</a>, and I'm curious what you think of it as well.

I think Steem is underrated and has been for some time. It’s one of the few cryptocurrency projects actually delivering on its goal. That said, it has some identity/vision issues to figure out.

First off, no, I don’t think Voice (or any other EOS social media project) will kill Steem. There is a passionate community involved with Steem that has put up with a lot of 💩 for years and is still her. Also, Voice KYC concerns:

<center>![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfKrAtFNS6zyjYKS7LwNitq1k4BTGGYpjxczoqYbfwmhm/image.png)</center>

As for the issues, people still can’t think of STEEM the cryptocurrency without thinking about Steemit the (not so great) social media UI. I’ve tried to clarify the differences again and again:

<a href="https://steemit.com/steem/@lukestokes/steem-is-not-steemit-steem-is-more-valuable-than-steemit">
STEEM Is NOT Steemit. STEEM Is More Valuable Than Steemit.
<img src="https://steemitimages.com/DQmbLdg9LtFZFYLrZxbFV1hm8wHN6m84naR3pbD1GDrk5zJ/steem_is_not_steemit.jpg"></a>

Investors walk away because they see inflation as wasted on content creators/curators, a segment which are not often whale speculators in the space and therefore won’t drive token prices up (but instead dump their rewards).

There’s also the concerning centralization of stake between Steemit, Inc and early ninja miners which keep some from buying up other people’s bags. Centralization is a bad thing, especially in this space. That said, people have been selling for years = decentralized over time.

On the other hand we have content creators who love the idea of getting paid for their work. They are confused why the main interface has such a confusing UI and has been mostly unchanged for years. They also, often, don’t understand blockchains or cryptocurrency.

This creates a lot of conflict because they want changes they see on other social media sites which might not be possible on Steem due to technical blockchain limitations (Sybil attack resistance, blockchain size concerns, etc)

With all that said, there’s still a dedicated group of developers who truly get how revolutionary Steem is and how easily blockchain social apps can be built on top it. Example: https://steemprojects.com/  Some like DTube are leaving/forking, but others are still here. (Edit: DTube isn't exactly leaving, but not building on the core Steem chain is a big deal)

So my opinion is Steem is undervalued because a lack of clear identity within the marketplace. Is it a cryptocurrency first, a developer platform for social media apps, or a social media site rewarding content creators? What if it’s all of the above? Isn’t that valuable?

Obviously this is not financial advice. I personally got rekt holding STEEM while others cashed out to more profitable cryptocurrencies. Just because something may be valuable and undervalued doesn’t mean the market will eventually value it.

Want to see an example of the passionate community on Steem? This post about hard fork 21 coming up has 299 comments. Anyone who thinks STEEM/Steem is dead hasn’t been paying attention. 

<a href="https://steemit.com/hf21/@lukestokes/hf21-what-makes-steem-valuable">
HF21: What Makes Steem Valuable?
<img src="https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmcU9YU7UxrQKHnSBnGnPiZbocXr8kA4hauPyEQyJXnkTS/image.png">
</a>

For more on this idea, check out this video on 3Speak: <a href="https://3speak.online/watch?v=neopch/wwrjjlzw">How To Help Steem Price To Grow? - NEO x Starkerz</a> @starkerz and @oracle-d have been talking about ideas like this for years. How can we make them happen? I think part of the answer is getting outside of the Steem and cryptocurrency bubbles and find real problems real businesses want to solve and show people how Steem can solve those problems.

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<img src="https://steemitimages.com/DQmR3hhPtgcqhNDZyArucp2dZv2pG62WDKiWam8jrppCXNB/on_a_log_cropped.png">

<p>
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        <a href="https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@lukestokes/my-name-is-luke-let-s-create-the-world-we-want-to-live-in"><img src="https://steemitimages.com/DQmRh7DLpp1hDKugxyWxdDof7rkj5fpBus6tECvv7vcmL6d/smile.png" /></a>
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    <em><a href="https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@lukestokes/my-name-is-luke-let-s-create-the-world-we-want-to-live-in">Luke Stokes</a> is a father, <a href="https://steemit.com/@corinnestokes">husband</a>, programmer, STEEM witness, <a href="https://steemit.com/eosdac/@lukestokes/a-big-step-towards-our-decentralized-future-i-ve-joined-the-eosdac-launch-team">DAC launcher</a>, and voluntaryist who wants to help create a world we all want to live in. Learn about cryptocurrency at <a href="http://understandingblockchainfreedom.com/">UnderstandingBlockchainFreedom.com</a></em>
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