Steem is one of the most unique applications of blockchain technology. Dan Larimer was able to create a blockchain suitable for social media with incredible throughput and zero fees. In many respects, Steem is a huge leap in blockchain technology. The community around Steem is a testament to this technology. People are using Steem because its UI and UX is great, and the UI and UX is great because Steem is a lean and fast blockchain.

Steem is probably the first well-used blockchain out there. And this gives the Steem platform tremendous value. Now you might wonder, if writers can post for free, and readers can post for free, where is the value of Steem? The value of Steem comes from user attention. Steem is basically BAT, except with a real and engaged community.

Thus the value of Steem comes not only from the perception of it as a store of value, as any other blockchain native asset, but also from the user attention that Steem gets. User attention is a HUGE industry. The $600 billion global advertising industry is built on obtaining user attention. With this framework in mind, I'd like to share with you what I believe is the game plan to improve Steem, and everyone of us can contribute:

Steem needs more users, and to get more users we NEED better content. We NEED to stop upvoting vacuous posts just because its a whale. Stop upvoting posts filled with self promotion and low quality content (e.g. a couple of photos) and upvote deep thoughtful blog posts.

Steem is the biggest competitor to Medium, and we can push Steem to seriously compete against Medium. We need good content.

Steem devs need to GREATLY increase the advertisement opportunity on Steem. You can buy Steem power to get eyes on your post. You can also buy SBD to promote your post. But content creators need to also use SBD to promote posts in other locations on Steem, like in the side bars, banners, etc. SBD used to pay for ads should be burned to reduce inflation.

Finally, we need to SHARE quality Steem content. Everywhere. Get new users to use the platform. People can treat it as just another free blogging platform. The more ppl that use Steem, the more valuable the platform becomes. Don't underestimate Metcalfe's law.

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