@ned was very active this week. Let us take a look at what he was up to.
- He appeared on the Town Hall Meeting with @aggroed
- The Vision was added to the Steemit.com website.
- He appeared on the State of Steem with @pennsif.
While that was taking place, the price of STEEM jumped from $.24 to $.34.
Coincidence?
Probably so.
I am not going to correlate market action, which often makes no sense and has a mind of it's own, with what Ned was doing. If that were the case, a speaking tour by Ned would send the price of the coin soaring.
This does, however point to a larger issue. Over the last few months, Steemit Inc provided the community with a great deal of uncertainty. That certainly did not help the buying of STEEM. All the press about Steem was negative especially the layoff of 70% of the employees. On this front, I think we can draw some correlation.
That said, the price of STEEM is not the most important factor for the long term success of this blockchain. The programming that is taking place is the essential part. When the community is nervous, that will make people pause. Perhaps the ones developing were not so affected since they are already committed. Anyone new, however, might rethink the decision to build on Steem.
It is for this reason that, good or bad, Ned needs to present a solid, consistent front. Communication is key. Without news from the source, we are left with speculation and rumors. That is never going to turn out well.
Personally, I think the direction of Steemit Inc is solid at this point. From the call yesterday, we learned a few things.
- The number of employees is down to 12.
- SMTs are not the priority at the moment BUT there is a fair bit of programming that was done before the financial difficulties.
- Ned thinks Hivemind is a really big accomplishment and changes things on a grand scale.
- He reaffirmed his dedication to bringing out communities.
- Telling developers and entrepreneurs how to run their businesses and the decisions they make is not his place.
- Ned is not the spokesman for the Steem blockchain.
The last one was a conclusion drawn as opposed to being blatantly stated. It was clear that Ned feels that way. This is also an assessment I agree with. His focus is on providing the Steem community with the tools to build the best blockchain we can with thriving businesses. Ned is not the cheerleader for the blockchain.
I give him credit: he is trying. I think he is understanding how powerful a voice he is at this time. Hopefully, as things decentralize, we will see that lessen. Nevertheless, the way the situation is structured, especially with Steemit holding so many tokens, it is going to be a natural link.
Another important point is the number of tokens that Steemit has. While I would like to see that diminished over time (it has been decreasing), it does align their goals with every stakeholder on the blockchain. We are all one in that regard. Their payday comes from the appreciation of the price of STEEM over the next few years.
Overall I sense there is a bit more excitement of late regarding the Steem blockchain. Ned is making an impact by being available to the community. The best outcome is that Steemit Inc interacts with the community in a way that leverages the abilities of both. There are so many possibilities that, if people work together, we can see grand things emerge.
Hopefully Ned continues to make regular appearances. It does help to calm the troops.
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