Steem pyramid scheme revealed

[iamnotback]

We'll see if I am wrong when the first batch of serious ecosystem projects for the Steem blockchain are launched (again I am expecting the voting reward model and the 40 whales top-down control will limit the range of ecosystem projects).

Well the SteemStays appears to be promoted today:

https://steemit.com/steemstays/@steemstays/steemstays-an-accommodations-marketplace-on-the-blockchain

The main feature improvement as compared to Airbnb is lower fees.

But here is what I mean by I don't think the Steem whale (mathematician) @complexring and those other Millennials (who are inexperienced in Internet marketing) understand the hen-or-egg dilemma. Nobody is going buy STEEM to go use Steemstays, and nobody is going to use Steemstays because it will never have enough listings.

Sorry IMO that has FAIL written all over it (regardless of whether it is well programmed and designed).

The mistake they've made is that the demographics of those who have STEEM doesn't have economies-of-scale to target it with a service that only 1 in 100 Steemians would want to use if it had enough listings and which only 1 in 10,000 Steemians will want to use because it won't have enough listings because there isn't enough economies-of-scale.

You simply can't fix Steem with these amateurish and low capital ecosystem investments.

[smooth]

Either way, you are not being diluted (which is an actual word with an actual meaning: that your share of ownership of the platform is reduced) by inflation.

Google says:

di·lu·tion
dīˈlo͞oSHn,diˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/
noun
the action of making something weaker in force, content, or value.
"he is resisting any dilution of dogma"

In context it has a more specific meaning:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dilution.asp

"Dilution is a reduction in the ownership percentage of a share of stock caused by the issuance of new shares."

Anyway, we agree that crypto investors don't like it and very few want to invest in it (though apparently some do and are). I don't think anyone ever suggested otherwise. I know I pointed that out as one of the biggest challenges early in this thread (or maybe another one like it).

One thing though -- this has been a constant as has never changed. It was always structurally unfriendly to crypto investors, so this can't explain a declining valuation. What has changed is that people have observed and are observing that the onboarding/growth strategy has failed and are looking for he developers to offer some improvements to the platform (or perhaps some organic growth coming from an unexpected source). As time goes on without any such improvements (or newly apparent growth), confidence that it will ever happen declines, and with that, the valuation declines too.

[iamnotback]

Anyway, we agree that crypto investors don't like it and very few want to invest in it (though apparently some do and are). I don't think anyone ever suggested otherwise. I know I pointed that out as one of the biggest challenges early in this thread (or maybe another one like it).

One thing though -- this has been a constant as has never changed. It was always structurally unfriendly to crypto investors, so this can't explain a declining valuation. What has changed is that people have observed and are observing that the onboarding/growth strategy has failed and are looking for he developers to offer some improvements to the platform (or perhaps some organic growth coming from an unexpected source). As time goes on without any such improvements (or newly apparent growth), confidence that it will ever happen declines, and with that, the valuation declines too.

1. Perhaps the current (just a one-time blip so far) slowing of the market cap decline relative to the price decline may be due to (investment buying due to) expectations about the coming slew of ecosystem developments, e.g. SteemStays.

2. The pump was caused as usual by hype, rash emotions and a lack of understanding. As time has gone on, those who were fooled into rushing in, have since learned more. The second round of hope has perhaps ignited with #1, but because of the crazy stupid inflation design, I don't expect it to have much legs (but I hope so, so I can get more $ out of Steem).


I believe there is value in the concept of onboarding with money supply dilution (if done at sufficient scale of adoption), but this has to be more objective (i.e. what others refer to as "fair"), not under control of whales, and there must be a viable strategy for overcoming the hen-vs-egg coming first dilemma.

One of the key issues to solve is how to excite wide array of demographics to adopt and remain sticky.

I can assure you that paying them with fiat from money supply dilution is not it. This can't be done in a way that is both enticing enough for multitudes of users and realistic for investors. Whereas, creating an ecosystem where tokens move around the economy could pay them to work without any more dilution (and with burned tx fees could actually be reduce the money supply).

You have to ask the question of what do people want and what can you provide for them and how does a blockchain and crypto-tokens play into that in some compelling way that hits all the major demographics in some K.I.S.S. non-technobabble way.

I believe I have an answer.

Note that other projects such a PeerTracks are more focused on targeting users as investors than users as consumers+workers. I am more focused on the latter, because most people are not investors by nature. Think about content producers/managers are the ecosystem investors (distinguished from the speculative investors) and the bulk of the population as consumers and workers. That is how the real economy works.


Edit: @complexring may be astute enough to realize he isn't making SteemStays as a realistic ecosystem win, but perhaps as a means of hooking some more Chinese investment to keep the market cap more stable so he can cash out? I don't know. Probably not. Probably he really believes SteemStays is viable. Perhaps he even got some investor to fund the development of SteemStays, pitching the escrow revenue model.

[Daffadile]

Steal does seem to be falling apart lately Look at how much the value has dropped and it keeps plummeting.
It makes me wonder if it is still worth blogging there. How many feel the same ? Are you going to still blog or slow down a little or completely stop.

[bones261]

Steal does seem to be falling apart lately Look at how much the value has dropped and it keeps plummeting.
It makes me wonder if it is still worth blogging there. How many feel the same ? Are you going to still blog or slow down a little or completely stop.

I really didn't blog much, because it is not my gift. Lately, the rewards have been quite low. Few, if any, get the equivalent of $1000.00 or more daily. Only a handful get over $100.00. I wouldn't bother unless you can verify that you are the real Satoshi Nakamoto or maybe Gary Johnson.

[iamnotback]

Steal does seem to be falling apart lately Look at how much the value has dropped and it keeps plummeting.
It makes me wonder if it is still worth blogging there. How many feel the same ? Are you going to still blog or slow down a little or completely stop.

I really didn't blog much, because it is not my gift. Lately, the rewards have been quite low. Few, if any, get the equivalent of $1000.00 or more daily. Only a handful get over $100.00. I wouldn't bother unless you can verify that you are the real Satoshi Nakamoto or maybe Gary Johnson.

Earning money shouldn't be such arduous and stressful work, where you are completely at the whim of whales and Millennials groupthink.

Acrimony and large effort followed by disappointment, is the epitome of social networking failure mode. I mean these guys don't have a fucking clue what they are doing. They are good programmers, that is all.

It should be fun and social, which is addictive, sticky, and viral.

For the masses it should be mostly swiping and clicking. For content producers, they must be able to connect directly to their demographics and not be at the whim of some top-down control (whales, site-wide ideology).

[missbit]

It should be fun and social, which is addictive, sticky, and viral.

For the masses it should be mostly swiping and clicking. For content producers, they must be able to connect directly to their demographics and not be at the whim of some top-down control (whales, site-wide ideology).

Well-said. Could not agree more. Sticky? More of off-putting.

The content producers are mainly new untested bloggers who chase for upvotes from whales. These bloggers observe a trend on what kind of content is trending and starting writing something with "their in-depth research and hours writing" compared to people specialized in their technical field for years.

This is a very good example on IP. Just BS.
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@kevinwong/the-end-of-intellectual-property-on-imagination-artificial-intelligence-and-procedural-generation

IP exists clearly for a reason. Just depends on which side you happen to stand. Also this author clearly omits science patents. clearly written for anarchy or the pirates

Such untested bloggers or what you call content producers who exist on steemit is why steemit will fail to attract and expand user base outside of crypto.

[Arrakeen]

It should be fun and social, which is addictive, sticky, and viral.

For the masses it should be mostly swiping and clicking. For content producers, they must be able to connect directly to their demographics and not be at the whim of some top-down control (whales, site-wide ideology).

Well-said. Could not agree more. Sticky? More of off-putting.

The content producers are mainly new untested bloggers who chase for upvotes from whales. These bloggers observe a trend on what kind of content is trending and starting writing something with "their in-depth research and hours writing" compared to people specialized in their technical field for years.

This is a very good example on IP. Just BS.
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@kevinwong/the-end-of-intellectual-property-on-imagination-artificial-intelligence-and-procedural-generation

IP exists clearly for a reason. Just depends on which side you happen to stand. Also this author clearly omits science patents. clearly written for anarchy or the pirates

Such untested bloggers or what you call content producers who exist on steemit is why steemit will fail to attract and expand user base outside of crypto.

I clicked that link for one reason - to see whether or not the author would somehow shill out steemit by making it relevant to the main subject matter at hand. Was almost surprised to not see one mention of steemit....ungil The third to last paragraph.

I believe this is why steemit will die - you can only create so many random blog posts with '...And this is why steemit rules!' before the entire platform is viewed as garbage.

[missbit]

I believe this is why steemit will die - you can only create so many random blog posts with '...And this is why steemit rules!' before the entire platform is viewed as garbage.

Exactly, content wise, it is a big fail, be it steemit shilled or not steemit shilled. If steemit had started with a group of pioneer star bloggers and writers, it might have become sticky and bring in more users. Bought a little steem and the price spiraled downwards. Luckily, i did not buy much steem.

Checked the steemit content every now and then, it is only full of millennials with their "yeah steem yeah steemit" BS. Never clicking any steemit links again.

[damashup]

It should be fun and social, which is addictive, sticky, and viral.

For the masses it should be mostly swiping and clicking. For content producers, they must be able to connect directly to their demographics and not be at the whim of some top-down control (whales, site-wide ideology).

Well-said. Could not agree more. Sticky? More of off-putting.

The content producers are mainly new untested bloggers who chase for upvotes from whales. These bloggers observe a trend on what kind of content is trending and starting writing something with "their in-depth research and hours writing" compared to people specialized in their technical field for years.

This is a very good example on IP. Just BS.
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@kevinwong/the-end-of-intellectual-property-on-imagination-artificial-intelligence-and-procedural-generation

IP exists clearly for a reason. Just depends on which side you happen to stand. Also this author clearly omits science patents. clearly written for anarchy or the pirates

Such untested bloggers or what you call content producers who exist on steemit is why steemit will fail to attract and expand user base outside of crypto.

This argument is a bit like saying that Bitcoin would fail (after 6 months) as the only people using it were Satoshi and a handful of crypto nerds...

If well-established bloggers migrated onto Steemit, it would obviously be in the interest of whales etc to vote for them. As with most things early adopters are simply benefiting from being early adopters, not necessarily the cream of the crop.

Equally, if Steem or Synereo etc, gained mass adoption, the existing whales would likely be very quickly bought out and the modus operandi of the new whales would look very different to behaviours exhibited now.

The key for any of these "attention economy" platforms is mass adoption and user retention. An area which Steem/ Steemit has barely scratched the surface of given it's soft launch was in July and it's still in beta.

I for one will be interested to see how things begin to take shape over the next 12 - 18 months before declaring it dead/ failed after 3!

[jeffthebaker]

Steal does seem to be falling apart lately Look at how much the value has dropped and it keeps plummeting.
It makes me wonder if it is still worth blogging there. How many feel the same ? Are you going to still blog or slow down a little or completely stop.

I really didn't blog much, because it is not my gift. Lately, the rewards have been quite low. Few, if any, get the equivalent of $1000.00 or more daily. Only a handful get over $100.00. I wouldn't bother unless you can verify that you are the real Satoshi Nakamoto or maybe Gary Johnson.

The problem is the mist of "THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR A BLOG POST WOW COOL!" has entirely worn out. Nobody is making 1k on posts because the thousands of others getting pennies have stopped contributing content. This was bound to happen, doomed from the start. I was ridiculed for explaining this at Steem's peak value, and look where it's gone since...

[alyssa85]

What do people think about the arguments in the following article:

http://www.libertylifetrail.com/2016/10/23/steemit_started_as_a_scam_and_only_got_worse/

Are they valid?

[jeffthebaker]

What do people think about the arguments in the following article:

http://www.libertylifetrail.com/2016/10/23/steemit_started_as_a_scam_and_only_got_worse/

Are they valid?

Steemit is the worst kind of crypto scam, the kind that preys on unsuspecting individuals OUTSIDE of the crypto community. When it first exploded in popularity, the new users came in the form of those unfamiliar with the crypto sphere. People were talking about getting their friends, SO's, and even mothers into Steemit. Absolutely unacceptable. Once the time and money invested by these unsuspecting users evaporates (which, for the most part, seems to already have), their faith in the overarching crypto sphere will be shaken, most likely beyond repair. Steemit is the same level as scum as Namecoin, Onecoin, and now Zcoin.

[damashup]

What do people think about the arguments in the following article:

http://www.libertylifetrail.com/2016/10/23/steemit_started_as_a_scam_and_only_got_worse/

Are they valid?

Steemit is the worst kind of crypto scam, the kind that preys on unsuspecting individuals OUTSIDE of the crypto community. When it first exploded in popularity, the new users came in the form of those unfamiliar with the crypto sphere. People were talking about getting their friends, SO's, and even mothers into Steemit. Absolutely unacceptable. Once the time and money invested by these unsuspecting users evaporates (which, for the most part, seems to already have), their faith in the overarching crypto sphere will be shaken, most likely beyond repair. Steemit is the same level as scum as Namecoin, Onecoin, and now Zcoin.

Hmmm... for all it's current shortcomings (of which there are a few), 'preying on unsuspecting individuals outside of crypto' isn't one.

I introduced a few writers to Steemit as it was precisely a risk free way of introducing them to the power of crypto. They got paid for what they were doing anyway for free. They are also a few hundred dollars richer for the experience.

Some of them are still cashing out. Not one of them was vaguely interested in trading. None of them are that interested in Steem or Steem Power or Bitcoin or any of the issues that exercises people in this forum. All they know is they're getting some fiat for powering down each week and they're get some pay-out for showcasing their content on one of a myriad of platforms that they use.  At the most they're wondering if the price will go back up again. When they talk about cryptocurrencies to others its mostly in a positive light (even if they are fussy on how it all works).

I'm sure some crypto speculators and traders got burned trying to make money as the price sky-rocketed (as is the case with most coins).  I'm sure there are some people that were oversold the Steemit proposition by their friends (as it the case with most money making opportunities). However it's quite clear for most people outside of crypto, that Steemit is simply a place you can get rewarded for blogging. Whether the rewards are now worth their time submitting content is another matter. If it isn't most (level-headed) people will simply dial down the time they put into the platform or leave it altogether. Simple. No 'preying' involved.

Anyone (outside of crypto) throwing money at Steem should undertake enough due diligence to know that all cryptos are risky investments. Steem being one of the riskier ones as it requires a long-term commitment (converting to Steem Power) to avoid getting beaten up by inflation. To scream 'scam' at one of the more interesting experiments in this space (that has actually delivered a working prototype) is quite baffling.

[luisb]

I think I have explained this many times already, so it frustrates me that you and others still think this about me.

I was hospitalized in May 2012 for a perforated ulcer. I want you to read about what normally happens:

http://www.meb.uni-bonn.de/dtc/primsurg/docbook/html/x3617.html

So all the organs in my abdominal cavity were bathing in stomach acid for roughly 2 - 3 days, until the hole closed (my hole did not close within 6 hours!). Burning alive is incredibly painful when you don't have painkillers. If you want to know the feeling, go put your hand in an open flame and hold it there for 3 days.

Any way, being that I am in the Philippines, I didn't receive proper out patient care, and thus apparently it healed with some problems, such as potentially deformities (e.g. a "blind loop") or bad microflora infection that can't be eradicated.

The reason I know this is the case now, is because I got a diagnosis of NAFLD from a full abdomen ultrasound a few months ago, wherein they say that my liver and kidneys were roughed (sign of damage) and my bile ducts was sludge. I have dark inset around the eyes (didn't have this before) and this is a sign of liver malfunction. The filipino doctors weren't aware of the recent research has highly correlated NAFLD with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) which is explained because 70% of the liver's blood supply comes from the portal vein originating from the small intestine.

To give you further proof, I ate all-I-can-eat buffet on Sunday and I was in a lot of pain and discomfort (could barely stand up as we left the restaurant) because the food couldn't pass. I had extreme pressure. I have overeaten before this health ailment and didn't experience that level of pressure. (note I consider this yet another experiment to try every possible thing that might solve the problem, e.g. forcing food through).

My health issue is not imagined or caused by mental attitude. I do workouts and anything I can to try to restore my health, but there is a physical problem. And the symptoms are not just annoying but rather debilitating to cognition much of the time (reducing productivity to a fraction of the healthy cognition). And so that is why I am finally decided to go to a research university hospital in Singapore which specializes in this. I should have done this a long time ago, but for the longest time I was uncertain as to the nature of my illness (and that is another longer explanation). Recent events and awareness of certain information has homed in my understanding of my illness and made me confident to make such expenditures. I have no health insurance at all. I will be paying cash. I had hoped I would heal naturally as I am very athletic guy and had always been able to heal in the past from anything. But this one is physical and has to be dealt with physically by experts. No choice. After 4 years of trying every possible thing I could try naturally. Everything!

Got Lyme/Babesiosis and the rest of tickborne diseases tested to rule that out?

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/9/1206.long

[missbit]

It should be fun and social, which is addictive, sticky, and viral.

For the masses it should be mostly swiping and clicking. For content producers, they must be able to connect directly to their demographics and not be at the whim of some top-down control (whales, site-wide ideology).

Well-said. Could not agree more. Sticky? More of off-putting.

The content producers are mainly new untested bloggers who chase for upvotes from whales. These bloggers observe a trend on what kind of content is trending and starting writing something with "their in-depth research and hours writing" compared to people specialized in their technical field for years.

This is a very good example on IP. Just BS.
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@kevinwong/the-end-of-intellectual-property-on-imagination-artificial-intelligence-and-procedural-generation

IP exists clearly for a reason. Just depends on which side you happen to stand. Also this author clearly omits science patents. clearly written for anarchy or the pirates

Such untested bloggers or what you call content producers who exist on steemit is why steemit will fail to attract and expand user base outside of crypto.

This argument is a bit like saying that Bitcoin would fail (after 6 months) as the only people using it were Satoshi and a handful of crypto nerds...

If well-established bloggers migrated onto Steemit, it would obviously be in the interest of whales etc to vote for them. As with most things early adopters are simply benefiting from being early adopters, not necessarily the cream of the crop.

Equally, if Steem or Synereo etc, gained mass adoption, the existing whales would likely be very quickly bought out and the modus operandi of the new whales would look very different to behaviours exhibited now.

The key for any of these "attention economy" platforms is mass adoption and user retention. An area which Steem/ Steemit has barely scratched the surface of given it's soft launch was in July and it's still in beta.

I for one will be interested to see how things begin to take shape over the next 12 - 18 months before declaring it dead/ failed after 3!

That's the answer right there why most people won't buy steem. Why should new investors buy steem or even steem power (which takes 2 years to draw down everything) to support new bloggers and their content, and pay their "salary" or even the whales? It does not make good investment sense in the content market. A lot of steemit content is shit. If it claims to be a content site, it damned better have good content and star bloggers. But all i see is shit content probably written by whales' friends (according to what most feedback says) and i guess that explains why shit got voted on so often.  And you talked about "attention economy" when the content is not attracting eyeballs.

People will only invest in a content site if it provides value to the audience/masses or attracts users aka expands userbase. At this time, i don't see how both steem and steemit can provide any value.

Also, why hurriedly roll it out when it is premature is a big question? This, i leave it to your imagination on why.

[iamnotback]

Well I blogged one more time because I want to be known for making a prediction (blogging for reputation):

https://steemit.com/money/@anonymint/speculation-rule-buy-when-others-are-irrationally-pessimistic-cautious

Got Lyme/Babesiosis and the rest of tickborne diseases tested to rule that out?

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/9/1206.long

I'll make sure they test for all infectious diseases in Singapore. I already tested negative for Hepa B & C, HIV, easily testable STDs such as two kinds of Syphilis tests (but not HPV test yet), and cancer markers for prostrate and pancreas.

[missbit]

Well I blogged one time because I want to be known for making a prediction (blogging for reputation):

https://steemit.com/money/@anonymint/speculation-rule-buy-when-others-are-irrationally-pessimistic-cautious

Got Lyme/Babesiosis and the rest of tickborne diseases tested to rule that out?

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/9/1206.long

I'll make sure they test for all infectious diseases in Singapore. I already tested negative for Hepa B & C, HIV, easily testable STDs such as two kinds of Syphilis tests (but not HPV test yet), and cancer markers for prostrate and pancreas.

hi @anonymint, good call that you do not have "steem" in that post.

But sorry, under this low price, i can only the hint of "buy steem, it is cheap. Dun panic". it is exactly such steem shill post which pull steemit down. And steemit bloggers do not understand why readers/content consumers follow certain bloggers. The word is TRUST. Trust in a blogger that the blogger is not using their readers. This post of yours seems to be encouraging people to buy steem.

So in all, that post of yours is steem-shilled.

Add arguments to your post:

Except that steem is not bitcoin. Do you know who and where is Satoshi?

And that's why we can argue that bitcoin is truly decentralized whereas steem founders are not. In fact, steem is highly centralized in the hands of a few.

Please dun hold your hopes too high for steem and hope to get very rich with your free steem.

[iamnotback]

hi @anonymint, good call that you do not have "steem" in that post.

But sorry, under this low price, i can only the hint of "buy steem, it is cheap. Dun panic".

That is way the ball bounces. If I want whales to vote it up, I can't link to what we've written here.

I have not told an untruth, even though I have not forced myself to tell every truth. Sorry it isn't my responsibility to yell at people what they don't want to hear.

Note I did write people should be selling altcoins for Bitcoin about now. So if they don't understand Steem is an altcoin, then who can help them.

It also can teach them the opportunity cost of locking up your SP for 2 years. They are stuck and can't jump on the BTC train. I have entire section about the need to trade the waves, which you can't do with a 2 year lockin.

The entire blog is a veiled attack on Steem, lol. Even though that wasn't my intention when writing it. Steem attacks itself.


138 votes in 1 hour and only $9. The whales are upvoting @sirwinchester's body and soul, touchy-feely (masturbation) Millennials furball. See how in Europe a guy can drive around in Lamborgini cars apparently for being a dancer and focusing on the emotional BS of Millennials. Here in Asia, dancers earn minimum wage at best teaching Zumba class at the gym or hotel, because it is the economic law of supply and demand. There are so billions of people of color who can dance well (and even not of color, but people of color seem more apt to make dancing and sports their vocation). There are less than 100,000 programmers who can program really well. And probably less than 10,000 who can master both programming and marketing. And probably less than 1000 who can master programming, marketing, and programming language design (one of the most difficult tasks in computer science). That is why it is not sane for me to blog. Waste of rarer skills. But in a dysfunctional situation that I am in, then aberrations occur.

[iamnotback]

Super whale @berniesanders upvoted this:

https://steemit.com/art/@nonameslefttouse/how-to-fuck-fucking-lessons-for-beginners

Steem is self-destructing. What are they thinking  

It isn't well written nor funny. As well making Steem look like a low-life trash site.

I flagged it.

Flagged for making Steem look like a low-life trash site. It isn't even written well, isn't funny, nor entertaining.

Whales are you trying to self-destruct Steem by upvoting this crap?