Steem Showing Exponential Progress

Steem is advancing exponentially. It is happening right before our eyes.

One of the main issues is that it is easy to miss, especially when things are starting to kick off.

No, the token price did not suddenly blast off and moon. It is still in the toilet with the rest of the alt-coin world. We also do not see a ton of new users since the onboarding process still is a mess. Thus, we are adding a few hundred new accounts a day.

So by those metrics, things suck.

However, sometimes it is best to look at the horse rather than the cart. What is going to drive this thing forward.

Some point to the fact that the Alexa ranking for Steemit.com has been decreasing as a sign of an issue. There is no doubt that, since the end of the bull run in 2017, things headed in one direction: down. Steemit.com fell steadily since then.

That said, there is another piece to this. About 3 months ago, Tribes were added to the ecosystem. In that time, a number of sites opened up providing people with other options. Using the same layout as Steemit.com, this diminished the need to use that site. People can do the same thing within the different "categories" known as Tribes.

Let us look at a few.

Palnet:

Steemleo:

Sportstalk:

Obviously none of these rankings are going to worry Google or Amazon. However, the trend is what is important. Over the last three months, the Tribes saw their activity increase. This is something we can expect to continue as more options become available to us. All this only makes sense since Steem's overall usage is roughly flat. If Steemit.com is trending down, something else is picking it up.

On a more important note is the number of posts discussing Steem's future, especially what will happen after the next hard fork. This is uplifting to me and is of great benefit. We need people looking ahead. It is a simple fact that posting gets contagious. Before, it was the people complaining about whatever the topic of the day was and it repeated by a number of people.

Now, we are seeing some posting about what will happen to the STEEM after SMTs are introduced? How will people get rewarded in the future? Who will be the ones benefiting from all of this? What adjustments are people going to have to make?

These are all questions that are taking the outlook on Steem to a different level. We are close to seeing a couple major features implemented with SMTs and the Resource Credit Pool. The fact that the Steemit Inc engineers gave a rough timeline is also of great help.

By early Spring, we should have the hard fork completed which will put Steem on a completely different level. That will also accelerate things greatly.

What we are seeing, essentially, is the power of numbers. Each addition provides the opportunity to add, amend, and improve.

Let us going back the interfaces for a second. Steemit.com has not added much in the way of features over the past two years. Other than changing the color and adding night mode, there was little done to the site. This is not good since it is a rather old layout to start.

The advantage is that it is open source. This was of benefit when creating the tribes since the site was simply duplicated for each tribe. The story does not stop there however.

I took one of Steemleo's posts and copied a section of it.

They added a handy "Recent Posts' feature to the bottom of each post. This is an idea that could spread to other tribes if they were so inclined to add to it.

We also see the subject of burning tokens being spread throughout the community. Many are looking at different ways to burn a portion of the tokens to improve the supply. This can only enhance the token standing if it is a community that enjoys some success i.e. gains a following.

Over the last week, we saw a couple major adds to Steem-Engine. The first was the VIT peg. This is a project that aims to be one of the leading tokens in the adult entertainment industry. The project has some heavy hitters behind it including the ex-CEO of Red Light.

Today, I saw a post about PEOS having a peg on Steem-Engine. This is a terrific step because it ties Steem based tokens with EOS.

PEOS is a privacy token on the EOS network. By having a Peg on Steem-Engine, people can acquire it with their SE tokens. If so desired, one can swap the peg for the true token on that network. Hence, if my understanding is correct, we just accessed a very large pool with privacy. Just think of the games one can do bouncing around, swapping tokens in and out. It reminds me of the old mob films were guys under FBI surveillance would keep switching cars to lose the tail.

https://steempeak.com/peos/@peos/peos-is-now-on-steem-engine-peosp-pegged-asset-trading-against-steemp-with-active-deposits-and-withdraws-to-public-eos-main-net

What is basically happening is we are gaining some insight into what will happen starting next Spring. As the tentacles of Steem expand, we will see more additions at a faster pace. A few success stories means more will likely follow. After all, we do live in a copycat world. If something works for one site, why not duplicate it?

Obviously progress was slow when we had only a couple of applications. Development and innovation was relegated to only a handful of people. Now, we see that spreading out. With each new tribe, we have another team that is full of ides they are trying to implement. Ones that are successful tend to spread throughout the entire ecosystem.

Ultimately, we start with a couple dozen ideas. Over time, that expands into hundreds, and then reaches the thousands. Many are garbage, ending up in the waste bin. Others are tried only to fail completely. There are a handful, however, that turn out to be full of insight and wisdom.

Each week on here, a few more ideas pop up that fit the later category.

I like to keep the analogy of a street in mind.

Steem is nothing more than a street. It is pathway that gets somewhere but, outside of that, it offers little. Sure, it is a newly paved road with no potholes. It is banked properly that can allow for nice traffic flow. There are enough lanes to handle a large number of vehicles on a daily basis.

Over time, the road is improved. We keep extending it while fixing anything that arise. Maintenance is done while people pick up the litter and clean up oil spills. Periodically, there is a crash which necessitates emergency services being dispatched.

However, the road itself does not add the value. What is valuable is what is build on the road (actually next to it but you get the point). With the newly paved road, someone decides to put a motel. Next to that goes a restaurant. Someone decides a little boutique is required and puts that in. Further down the road, an amusement park is built.

Each lot is bought up. People from all walks of live have ideas about what to construct on this street. The work in individual teams pursuing their own goals. Each has a dream they work towards.

Over time, the collective progress is seen. One day, instead of just a plain road, there is a thriving thoroughfare with businesses lining each side.

Steem is the same way. Three years ago there was a road. It was a nice new one but that was all that was there. Then a lot was cleared and developed. Thus we had the first application called Steemit.com. Since that time, more lots were cleared with different businesses started. Some are still in the clearing stage; other actually broke ground. A few opened for business although their product selection is still limited. And finally, some are ready to go but are awaiting the right time to announce a mega-grand opening.

The point is that we are seeing a powder keg ready to explode. Those who designed the road are no longer able to keep a cap on it. Each side has a ton of effort being put in by thousands of people. Progress is made with each new nail inserted or coat of paint added.

Exponential progress is nothing more than the power of numbers. That is exactly what I see taking place on Steem.

Eventually, the number of teams gets large enough where progress is happening at a pace not seen even 6 months before. This is a point I see getting closer.

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