The tools of the trade

I have a friend who is into digital cameras and spends hours going over the manuals, the settings, and all the functionality possible.However, while he is highly proficient in the knowledge of his equipment, he has one problem - He doesn't take very good photographs.

I have been thinking about the various tools required for Steem for well, a very long time and now with the SteemDAO, perhaps some of them will start getting developed. There are so many tools that would make Steem better and I am hoping that while people are wanting more onboarding, the first order of business is to create the tools that are required. But, this there is something that many people miss when it comes to tools:

It isn't how you use it, it is what you generate with it.

 
We live in a world that loves to demand incrementally better features to equipment, even though no one is going to use it in a way that generates a different outcome. It is a sellers dream and a consumer desire to want after the latest and greatest even though it changes nothing of note in our experience - like a new styling kit on the latest car model of choice. But, having it seems to bring some kind of satisfaction and, some kind of feeling of advancement, status or boost in reputation.

I don't care much for these types of things and currently, I am more interested in the utility of the tools at my disposal and what they can be used to create, not the tools themselves. This is something that the developers of Steem (and everywhere) need to recognize when they are developing their solutions. Their product and service isn't the product and service - it is what they can be used to generate that provides use. If the solution is too complex and the learning curve to great, it doesn't matter what it does - very few people will use it.

In my last post I used the example of coding to create websites being replaced by coding to create websites. The difference was that the end user didn't have to do the coding as that was happening in the background, all they needed to do was drag and drop. However, even though they didn't do much at all, they still felt like they were doing it themselves and this is an important component of gamification.

Once upon a time in the 1920s or so, ready cake mixes were invented and one could buy the packet, add water, mix and bake and presto, delicious freshly made cake. They sold very poorly. The reason was that while they liked the outcome, the housewives felt like they were cheating because they didn't have to do enough work to get the cake, they didn't feel like they were baking it themselves. The solution was that the powdered milk and eggs were taken out of the mixture and needed to be added. This additional step was enough to bring in the feeling of achievement of,

"I made it myself".

 
While that might not be everyone's idea of baking, it is pretty much how we all operate in many aspects of our lives where we feel like we are generating the result but in actual fact, there is a tool supporting our progress, like "aim assist" on console games. And to take that further, a gamer might be able to play a racing, a FPS and a platform game well, but what they are really able to do is use the tool, the controller, well. Using the controller to drive a car or shoot a gun might give the sense of ability, but it doesn't make the skill transferrable to reality.

The human race are brilliant tool makers and it is one of the key components that set us apart from the animals as we are able to generate external equipment that did not exist earlier to solve our problems. However, the goal isn't in the creating of tools, it is in what we are able to generate with that tool.

For example, I would love for Steem interfaces to really start thinking about developing analytics for the user interfaces as they tend to generate connection and interest for a user as their experience is gamified further. Obviously, Steem already has gamification as it is tokenized, but bringing in granular, personal progress feedback helps many people get attached to the experience itself.

I would also like there to be a great deal more simplification in the building of Steem powered websites as while it is great that the tribes are using the Steemit condenser, there is very little market differentiation and the condenser is not suitable for all purposes. Building a Dreamweaver-esque frontend builder with modules and plugins to alter the look, feel and operation of the application would go a long way in creating more compelling user experiences. And, this will make it like baking that cake where anyone can feel that they are creating, even though they are "placing" more than developing.

People use the "be able to explain it to a Grandma" for when it comes to the concepts, but the same holds true for most aspects where the majority of people who can add something of value, are not specialists in using tools - they are end users. Simplifying the tools so that more people can use them to create is what give the tool value.

While a tool of creation should have utility for the end user, the creation of the tool requires an understanding of needs and the art to build what satisfies the purpose. This is not always easy and especially hard for people who get caught up in the details of the tool, rather than what is to be generated with it.

Lowering the barrier of entry into a complex area is difficult and requires a high degree of skill. In my opinion and while there are many gaps to close, Steem has successfully lowered the barrier of getting into crypto and blockchain by building an ecosystem that gamifies the process and, has community support of various kinds to encourage further learning.

The next step is to take this further and build the ecosystem with integrated and plugin tools that give increased control to users while decreasing the barriers to entry to participate. Not only that, these tools have to be streamlined and advanced into the eye-line of users so that someone can join, get their keys and start using the platform smoothly with minimal fuss and then, ramp up the learning from that point on.

This is where the communities and SMTs will come in as the extra step away from having to negotiate the Steem blockchain at the start means that a user doesn't have to consider the aspects of investment, security and blockchain complication from the get go - they can just use the application and start. From there, they can be slowly guided through the experience and for many, this will allow for a natural ramp-up of knowledge and an increased interest as they will discover what is here and, bake their own cake.

Great tools are the ones that empower us to create and for me, this has been one of the main reasons Steem is so sticky for me as in my opinion, there is no better place on the internet to support my creative mind. I don't need bells and whistles, I need space and hopefully, feedback from the environment that indicates and guides my development.

The great thing about developing some of the tools we need on Steem is that we do not have to reinvent the wheel as they are already created for the internet in thousands of ways. What we need to do is just start with the lowest hanging fruit and integrate them in and make them work and operate in a highly familiar way to what people are already doing. In time, the cutting innovation will come through the sheer mass of people who are onboard the Steem train with a set of tools at their disposal with which to create.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]