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A lot has happened on Steem, and I don't just mean in the last week. The entire history of the life of the blockchain from even before it produced its first block has been embroiled with drama. Ninja-mines, hyper-inflation, bidbots, hardfork freezes, AI-generated content abuse and a plethora of community-sourced hoopla, has "plagued" the last four years. 

https://i.imgur.com/QXpUtFU.jpg

Yet, here we are.

While for many of the users these things have left scars on the memory, the truth is that for many more, there is no memory of them at all. As while the importance of the process to deal with and overcome a lot of the issues consumes many of us, others do not care and just keep doing what they are doing, often oblivious to what is going on at the governance level or, the fighting of abuse levels. 

While ignorance is bliss, there are generational factors to consider also, as while much of the drama can be found on chain to make up a rich history of Steem, one would have to actually look to discover and dig to understand. Most, won't even know to start, others can't be bothered even if they know to look.

I liken this invisibility of history to the Tweet a few years ago when Rhianna and Kanye West released *FourFiveSeconds* together with Paul McCartney. There were Tweets saying things like, 

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While many might laugh at this, remember that you may also be a little longer in the tooth than the those writing these tweets. The further a generation is away from events, the less they are going to know about, let alone be *consciously* affected by them. It doesn't mean they aren't affected.

On Steem, the many hurdles of the past have been dealt with in various ways with constant adjustment going on. While each shift is imperfect, each adds to the conversation and evolution of the blockchain to add new layers to improve the experience - but at this early stage, it can very much be, *one step forward, two steps back.* Yet sometimes, it could be in leaps and bounds forward. As long as development continues.

As necessity is the mother of invention, challenge is a driver of need, and Steem has faced and faces many challenges. Eventually one might be unbeatable, but I do not think that we are there yet and even if we are, there are always options to go forward. A dead blockchain doesn't kill a lively community. 

But, let's say that we are able to overcome the current challenges and move forward - there are going to be many open woulds and this being the community it is, many will never let sleeping dogs lie and will forever bring this period up in conversation. Much of this behavior is pain based, as pain sears the memory well. Much of it is also ego based where people want to talk about their glory days when thy felt relevant, Like Al Bundy quarterbacking at Polk High.

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Yet, the new generations will not remember these "glory days" and have no interest in what went on in the past, even though it is because of these times that they are able to do what they do, to live as they do. What they will be interested in is what they can do now, whenever their now will be, and what will become important to them is whatever challenges they face in that future today. They will have to deal with their own issues, their own abusers, their own attempts to limit their experience and control their freedoms.

Of course, we need to secure their future, now. If we don't, they will not have a future on this blockchain, in the same way that if we pollute this earth by not being aware of our impact and allowing bad actors a free-run to extract value and dump their waste, future generations will not exist. 

These are challenges of the real world and one of the great things about Steem is that much of it mimics reality, encased in its own ecosystem, one that allows for a great deal of experimentation through trial and error. These diverse experiments are made possible because it is decentralized, meaning that many users can act locally and still add value globally, or extract as the case may be. 

I believe that the next wave of massive development is going to come through Smart Media Tokens, as they will not only empower many communities, but they will be able to test a large range of economic variables to suit different purposes or, test multiple on the same use case. This economic experimentation would be able to add value to all corners of Steem as there will be an expansion and then a concentration through a dynamic *survival of the fittest* process, much like organic evolution. 

Steem is a digital representation of us moving and breathing as individuals and as a community, and as we grow, it grows with us, like the bones in our body. The difference is, it needn't ever weaken, as its limbs can be cast off and discarded even as new branches are growing. 

https://i.imgur.com/2pY9WcR.png

And in the roots, it will be recorded, yet future users will never need see it as they will be onboarded through communities powered by Steem, yet not on Steem. They will be the ever-changing skin that stretches and flexes across the bones, with the applications being the muscles to make their movement possible. They will not care where the energy comes from, as long as they can breath in the potential and have the space to run free. 

It all sounds idealistic, doesn't it? But, what is stopping us from creating this unlimited digital landscape other than *ourselves, our egos and our greed?* Over the years, we have faced many challenges as a community that is made up of a shifting set of participants - but as with all of humanity, the largest challenge and threat to our survival; *is us.*

Despite our future invisibility, what we do now is important.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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[![Onboarding](https://i.imgur.com/e6A1MiM.png)](https://steemonboarding.com/)</center>