There have been a few posts talking about the number of users or more accurately, the lack there of. It is obvious that for Steem to really become something truly valuable in the future it requires many more users than it currently has but, I am not too concerned about user retention and attrition rates just yet as it is far too early. 

https://i.imgur.com/3PUZtXM.jpg

The reason that I am not concerned is because of the entire cryptosphere population in general as for the most part, people are here for the profits, here for the ROI, here for the future possibility also. Yes, many have other plans for that future with various philosophical and political ambitions but, that is often secondary. 

Here are the number of posts on Steem taken from @penguinpablo's stats a few days ago:

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmesnXKwYUd5NhG6i8fkV7JG57RBbq8NMAhqPPaBKF6Ugk/image.png)

I have seen this used as an indicator that Steem is failing but is this actually true considering the types of people who are here? Look at the peak, that is when Steem *and* SBD were riding very high at the start of the year and people were posting heavily to get as much inflated SBD as possible. This is why there were so many posts on the platform, this is why there were so many people joining, this is when a great number of alt accounts were created to maximize extraction. It wasn't a sign of Steem's health, it was a market driven bubble. 

A lot of those accounts are dead now. They are dead because the return they were getting at that point disappeared when the bears started to set up in the market place and the bulls went into hibernation instead. Remember that at that time there was a lot of activity and voting going on and due to the inflated SBD, it was worthwhile to spam the blockchain with alt accounts wanting votes but those times are gone and most of those alts lay dormant, as do the accounts who came in for reward. To me, this has been a great time to get an understanding of who is in crypto at the moment and watching the reactions of people who have different incentives and goals. 

The cryptosphere is not a very large place, there aren't many users and, there is a massive amount of overlap between populations. It is a community that is dominated by profit maximization and coin collection and most users are spread transacting across several blockchains simultaneously. Yes, there is also more competition too with EOS, Smoke, Whaleshares etc attracting users which is great as they have a chance of being early adopters on new platforms *if* they pan out long-term. But, the core of the reasons most are attracted to new platforms is profit potential, not community. 

People often compare Steem and similar to social media sites but as soon as there is true and widespread economic incentive available for all, that fundamentally changes what this is as economic conditions come into play. The state of the economy doesn't effect users on Facebook or Instagram for as far as most users are concerned, the two things are unconnected. 

<div class="pull-right">https://i.imgur.com/YV2b26f.jpg</div>

At Steem however, the platform and the economy of crypto are inextricably linked and impossible to tease apart as the market plays a core role in Steem. Yes, it also plays a core role in the other crypto platforms too but, they are much younger and and have the *new and shiny* attractor status but are still largely unproven in the marketplace with some not even having the capabilities to sell their tokens yet. That will change things too. 

However, Steem is still growing, it is still developing and it is still getting ready for mainstreaming. What will stabilize something like post count is when there are millions of users who *aren't* here for only the economic incentive and possibility, they are also here to be consumers and users as they would any mainstream social service. The difference for them will be not only the chance at some value return on their content but, ease of usage of all the other services that will slowly be hooked onto the blockchains like banking and their billing needs. The coming advantages and savings of reducing middleman transactions will be an attractor in itself.

A large part of the cryptosphere problem with mainstreaming is that people are concerned with taking profits in the foundational phase at all levels which means that they continually buy back into the fiat system. This is actually not all bad news as it get people accustomed to usage and can actually lead to localized inflation through further pressure on centralized currencies but it does slow down the on chain value. 

I can almost guarantee that when the bears decide that it is time for them to hibernate again and the bulls come out to play, the user levels, posts and engagement on Steem will boom once again, as it has done several times in the past already. With each new dip and climb though is that those who have been here all along or have long vision will continually increase influence over the platform while the value chasers will always be chasing. 

It seems an unfortunate rule of society that people support the development of value peaks but hopefully the peaks can be flattened out a bit more each generation through education and distribution. However, as we look across platforms we will find the same types of people currently behaving in the same kinds of ways. Social rules, *like code,* can change though and this is part of the recoding of communities to take more responsibility for ourselves.

The largest single reason for the downturn in activity on Steem is not the community aspect, it is the bear market as people post here for reward and if the rewards are not significant enough, they will find places where there is more on offer. As the entire cryptospere matures there comes with it more stability and this will venture increasingly across platforms to provide more price parity for earning potential which will mean there will be less competition on price and more on what is offered by the community.

And this is why I don't worry too much about user retention in what *I consider* the short term because what is on offer is in continual development and will become the foundation of various communities to build upon. The additional potential of SMTs to differentiate and reward communities with a lot more versatility as well as the coming RC pools that can fundamentally change the way stakeholders interact with the blockchain, is going to make the dynamics of the platform change immensely. 

No one is forced to be here and no one is forced to buy-in or sell-out, no one is forced to work here, no one is forced to be a part of the community at all.  But. People have life conditions, needs and ambitions they are trying to overcome, negotiate with and satisfy and for many, they have become reliant on Steem or *Steem equivalent* incomes. This may be necessary for some but due to the immaturity of the cryptoshpere and volatility of the markets, reliance is a risky game. 

While people chase profits and skip across platforms based on their current offers of ROI, there are others on those same platforms developing the infrastructure, their stake, their social network and the core community as a whole. If *any* of these platforms are successful, those who benefit the most will always be those with stake and, those who are core members of the staked communities. 

The world we live in has been engineered to create chasers out of us, to make us skip from job to job for a little more that may do very little of significance. Those who truly value from the world aren't the chasers, it is the people who build the foundations, the businesses, the infrastructure, the services that facilitate the chase. While people are worried about the next big thing, they are there developing what it will sit upon. Steem in m opinion is one of those bases that will become a support for many users to chase their hopes and dreams. 

Some may benefit from their chase, some won't, but those at the base that supports their feet will benefit always. To be at the base means to take the risk to stop running after value, and build something of value instead. Rather than looking at post numbers to get an indication of the health of the system, look at development growth and technological advancements instead. *For now.*  

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]