"The Medium is the Message"

Steemit! Amazing platform. I am super excited about it. I have not participated much until very recently, but have been following it's progress for about a year. I am not too techy, and am only beginning to learn a little coding. I feel my novice, perhaps paradoxily, gives me a little advantage on understanding obstacles to mainstream adoption of these amazing new blockchain platforms. I don't advocate for corporate sell-out of course, but I would like to see more people using Steemit and would love to see more platforms like Steemit, Decent, LBRY, Synereo, etc.. Appreciative inquiry is a brilliant concept, and constructive criticism can be helpful too. That said, I am noticing some things that might seriously inhibit the building of a stronger community here on Steemit. I have a background in community building and one of the most important questions that people are reluctant to ask is, "Why do most communities fail?". From ancient cities now in ruins to the plethora of social media apps now unheard of, before we ever even heard of them! Most hippie communities, business communities, online communities, most bands, brands, theater groups, and dance troupes fail! Why? I can't say that i know for sure, but i can say that there is not one simple answer to this question. Here are some ideas based on my own curiosities.

I understand that most of us are well aware of this usability issue...and i feel like it is a an important and exciting conversation. In my experience, the two biggest hurdles in community building are Economic Sustainability, and Clarity of Vision. For the most part, Steemit has those two hurdles jumped! A close runner up to those, is freedom. If people can participate in a way that allows them to express themselves openly without feeling constrained, contained or censored, they will be more likely to do so. Steemit allows us all this freedom, so I feel we are off to a really great start. Now let's look at the places that could perhaps use some improvement.

It's not just a clever entrepreneurial buzz phrase anymore to say "Fail Fast." It is more of an inevitability in most cases. The fact that this community has got this far is not short of a miracle, If we can look closely at a few key issues, we might be able to prevent it from losing steam (pun intended). In marketing there is something called friction. Most people don't want to "figure it out". They just want to search, read, write, and post. when we add a digital currency into the mix, people might be delighted to get paid, but that is probably where their interest stops. Few want to figure out how to get paid unless that process is a few clicks or less. When participation involves the mysterious Bitcoin, the platform might gain some intrigue, but most users will not engage with the community due to their perplexity. When participation involves using Bitcoin, and Steem, and Steem Power, and Steem Dollars, we can be sure that even some of the most die hard enthusiasts will shelf it for a rainy day and maybe never pick it up again at all.

With all new platforms, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) can be confusing at first. When some new users see too many strange new tools with similar names they might rather have a nap than sort it all out. I mean they might rather sleep if Steemit is seen as a stream of steem, steem power, steem dollars, and and other things all seeming both different and the same simultaneously. I am a little confused myself just writing about it. Where were we? oh yes...friction and redundancy.

Please forgive me if this seems too critical. My intentions are good. I have never in my life been part of a team that has accomplished even remotely as much as Steemit has. This Platform and community at large are all superheros. Thanks to all involved.