RE: Steemit Will Survive - How Only You Can Make it Happen!
This is my second day here. I have a very limited amount of information about how this system/network works. Here is how I see Steemit from being here for two days.
In two words: a place where a greedy people try to get noticed
If you already have identified the problem then you should define the things you are going to measure. Then implement those things, measure and see what works and what does not.
I do not know your goals on what you are trying to achieve here. I was looking at it from a user perspective on what I would like to see here - a blog content site that could compete with platforms like Medium.com. Or maybe a platform that offers possibilities to third-party developers to build their businesses. In both those cases the user is the king and you should start to value the users you want to succeed.
I liked the idea on checking the user comments, blog posts and other user generated stuff. If you value the quality content then it is useful to make a badge (it is silly but it works) and put in face. If you suggest to see the posts and comments of user, then why not putting them as a clickable links under his username.
If you fight comment spam then make a downvote and see how many users and in what situations use it, is it useful fighting spam or not. Those are the measurable things that matter. Posting suggestions and trying to teach users is useless. But maybe I'm wrong and you can succeed. That is what I would like to see. 😉
Ok. I think I understand where you're coming from now.
Steemit is a Social Media platform that rivals (or relates to) a combination Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, etc. The differentiator for Steemit is that instead of simply liking posts comments on these other platforms and getting nothing out of it (besides seeing more and more Advertisements where each of those other platforms are making money off of you - the user), Now you - the user - are in control of where the dollars are earned.
As a user of Steemit, you get to create your own brand (i.e. Blog / Comments / Upvotes / etc.) and have the opportunity to be rewarded for the content that you're creating, or "curating". You also are the decider on where money from the platform is provided (you have the ability to upvote content, your upvotes are worth money to the recipients).
Everything in Steemit is stored and transacted on the blockchain and there is no centralized "admin" group. All of the users on Steemit are both the content generators, payment distributors, and platform admins.
If you click someone's username, then click their picture, you'll be directed to their blog. Their blog gives you more options to see all of their Blog Posts, Comments, Replies, and Wallet (containing all of the financial transactions a user has performed on the blockchain).
The system is well thought out, and well implemented. It's the users who are "breaking" the system by using it for purposes that it was not intended who are the problem. As a software engineer you can only plan so far ahead for how people may try to manipulate your beautiful work of art into a self-profiting machine before you over-engineer everything.
I'm starting to understand what is what. I found the source of it Steem. And all the projects like steemit.com, busy.org and others are just apps that use this Steem blockchain. So, for example, if I do not like steemit.com, I can use another implementation, created by rivals or build my own. 👍