At the moment, when it comes to trading cryptocurrencies, it is almost impossible to lose ground, at least in the mid-term. There is so much money flowing in that almost everything is on the way up, but this doesn't mean all are on the up and up. The legitimacy of many of the coins is questionable at best and is reminiscent of the late 90s tech scene, All promised, little delivered.

This makes looking for long-term hold, investment coins extremely difficult and is a large reason why the oldest coins get the majority of support. Sure, many are likely to know them but, the age of something brings with it a certain amount of trust. *'It has lasted this long, it will likely last this long again'*

https://i.imgur.com/4WbqCRV.png?1

When looking for an investment coin, one thing comes up over and over, *Look at the development team* but, what doesn't get mentioned is what a good development team is. Anyone know?

The development team is a weakness of most of these blockchains as it is they who are the point of centralisation, they are the ones who will set a lot of the viability of a project and from the get go, there can be many issues and oversights that can be cataclysmic down the line, or chain as the case may be.

For me, I do not know what makes a good development team, I don't know who in the field is qualified and which projects have been able to put together a group of people who are not only able to code, but think long-term. Well, except for one, Steem.

I am of course biased in my opinion here as it was my first contact with cryptos and still not up to speed with the technical specifications at a deep enough level but, the development team seems solid. The reason I think so is because it is us. We as the users are the backbone of Steem that give it its strength. We are the development team.

Is it infallible? No. Do mistakes happen? Yes. But, essentially anyone here can be involved in the direction Steem takes in many different ways. With the introduction of Smart Media Tokens (SMTs), this will be even easier and there will be a whole range of applications that spiral out from we, the backbone.

There already are numerous applications that make Steem light-years more useful than the promiseware suppliers claiming they will 'Change the world' of this, that and everything else whilst having very little tangible to show for it after perhaps years of development. I am sure that those running those projects don't mind trading their coins back and forwards though while they, *work out the kinks in the blockchain*. Perhaps the odd engineered 'pump and dump' to raise some capital?

For me, I think it is wise to invest into the people behind a project as it is they who will act to realise the potentials, not the ideas of the project. Again, I am biased in this regard as it is what I do for my work, train personnel to get better company results. It really is the people that make things happen in an organisation and at Steemit, we are both user and organisation.

Whoever holds any amount of Steem is part of the company, this is one of the brilliances of the Steem blockchain philosophy as every user really does have a say. That say is pegged with how much vested interest each has and not everyone can directly influence the development team but, everyone *can* influence something through the way they interact on the Steem blockchain. 

How much Ethereum or Bitcoin do you need to hold to have any real influence? Can you use the little of Doge you do hold to make someone's life better on the other side of the world *and* still hold your vested interest? Even if you can, are you willing to?

The backbone of Steemit being us means that we are all invested in each other and we can use our stakes to help one another in so many different ways. Sure, voting decent content up will help the platform, but so does helping someone develop better content, encouraging them to develop skills, opening them up to new experiences and opportunities and supporting the m to be a larger and more invested part of the community.

Again biased but, Steem has the chance to become such a strong backbone in the cryptosphere, it will make all the others seem spineless. In this day and age, sitting and doing little has become a disease. Do you know what the backbone does? It allows us to stand and move. Time to get up?

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]