In case you missed it, please also check out yesterday's announcement post, and try out the extension.

Just for fun, I asked Google Gemini, Brave Leo (Claude Haiku), and EasyCode to read the README file from the Steem Curation Extension or yesterday's Announcement post and to estimate the extension's value to the Steem ecosystem.

The questions were in different contexts, so not identical, but it was always a variant of this:

If the browser extension works as described in this README file, estimate the potential value (in dollars) that it brings to the Steem ecosystem. The Steem marketcap is currently about $75 million.

For whatever it's worth, here's what they estimated:

EDIT: Claude Sonnet added.

To be honest, these all feel high to me, but who knows? I'd be happy if the true value is ¹/₅ of Gemini's estimate. The more people who make use of it, the more valuable it becomes, though, so please try it out. Another way to make it more valuable for the ecosystem is to improve its capabilities, so I renew the invitation for developers to contribute.

Here is the reasoning that was provided by the various LLMs (with some formatting by me):

Based on the information provided in the web page text, the Steem Curation Extension appears to bring the following potential value to the Steem ecosystem:

1. Improved Curation Efficiency: The extension provides curators with enhanced tools to easily identify posts with specific attributes, such as those with "@null" beneficiaries or those sent to the "/promoted" page. This can help curators make more informed voting decisions, leading to better content discovery and reward distribution.

2. Increased Visibility for Authors: The extension's ability to display promotion information for posts can incentivize authors to utilize the blockchain's "burn" mechanisms, which can increase the visibility of their content.

3. Expanded Accessibility: By graduating from alpha to beta and becoming available in the Chrome Web Store, the extension can now be easily installed by a larger number of Steem users, including those using Chromium-based browsers like Brave, Edge, and Chrome.

Considering the current Steem market cap of around $75 million, the potential value of the Steem Curation Extension can be estimated as follows:

Estimated Potential Value: $1 - $3 million

The reasoning behind this estimate is:

1. Improved curation efficiency and increased content visibility can lead to better content discovery and reward distribution, potentially increasing user engagement and activity on the Steem platform. This could translate to a 1-2% increase in the overall Steem market cap.

2. The expanded accessibility of the extension, allowing more Steem users to benefit from its features, can further drive platform engagement and adoption, potentially contributing to a 1-2% increase in the Steem market cap.

It's important to note that these are rough estimates, and the actual value the extension brings to the Steem ecosystem may vary based on factors such as user adoption, impact on content discovery and reward distribution, and overall platform growth. Additionally, the value of the extension may be difficult to quantify precisely, as it depends on various market and user behavior dynamics.

Based on the information provided in the README file, the Steem Curation Extension seems to have the following potential value for the Steem ecosystem:

1. Identifying Promoted Posts: The extension highlights posts that are promoted by burning Steem Dollars (SBD) or those that burn STEEM, SBD, and SP beneficiary rewards. This helps curators and readers identify posts that may have received artificial promotion, allowing them to make more informed decisions about where to spend their attention and voting power.

2. Controlling Visibility of Resteemed Posts: The extension allows curators to control the visibility of resteemed posts in any Steem account's feed and blog pages. This can help curators better manage the content they see and focus on the most relevant posts.

3. Providing Curation Insights: The extension provides a collection of information that can help with reader and curator decisions about where to spend attention and voting power. This additional context can improve the overall curation process on Steem-based websites.

Estimating the potential value of this extension to the Steem ecosystem is challenging, as it depends on several factors, including the adoption rate, the impact on content quality and curation, and the resulting changes in user engagement and platform activity.

However, as a rough estimate, if the extension were to be widely adopted and it significantly improved the curation process on Steem-based websites, leading to increased user engagement, better content quality, and more effective use of voting power, it could potentially contribute to a 1-5% increase in the Steem ecosystem's overall market capitalization, which would equate to $0.75 million to $3.75 million based on the current $75 million market cap.

This is a conservative estimate, as the actual impact could be higher or lower depending on various factors. The true value of the extension would depend on its real-world performance and adoption within the Steem community.

Value Analysis: Steem Curation Extension

After reviewing the readme file for the Steem Curation Extension, I can provide an estimate of its potential value to the Steem ecosystem.

The extension enhances the curation experience on Steem-based platforms by:

• Highlighting promoted posts and those with burned rewards
• Providing color gradients to quickly identify promotion costs
• Allowing users to toggle resteem visibility
• Displaying voting power in the profile menu
• Offering curator overlays with detailed information about posts and authors

To estimate its value, I'll consider several factors:

Direct Value Components:

1. Curation Efficiency

The extension helps curators identify quality content more efficiently, potentially improving reward distribution accuracy. If it improves curation by just 1% across the ecosystem, that's roughly $790,000 in better-directed rewards.

2. Time Savings

With 83,000 daily users, if just 10% adopt this extension and save 5 minutes daily through improved curation efficiency, that's 41,500 minutes (692 hours) saved daily. At a conservative value of $15/hour, that's about $10,380 daily or $3.8 million annually.

3. Promotion Transparency

By highlighting promoted posts, the extension increases transparency in the ecosystem, which could reduce manipulation and improve trust. This might conservatively add 0.5% to ecosystem value ($395,000).

4. User Retention

More efficient curation leads to better content discovery, potentially increasing user satisfaction and retention. A 1% improvement in user retention would be significant for a platform with 83,000 daily users.

Total Estimated Value:

Based on these factors, I estimate the extension could add approximately $4-5 million in value to the Steem ecosystem annually through improved curation efficiency, time savings, and ecosystem transparency.

This is around 5-6% of the current market cap, which is significant for a browser extension. The value would increase if adoption grows beyond the initial user base.

The actual value could vary based on adoption rates, but the extension addresses several pain points in content curation that could meaningfully improve the Steem ecosystem's efficiency and user experience.

Estimating the potential value that the Steem Curation Extension brings to the Steem ecosystem involves considering several factors, including the market cap of Steem, the number of users, and the impact of the extension on user engagement and content quality.

Factors to Consider


Market Cap: The current market cap of Steem is approximately $75 million.
User Engagement: If the extension significantly increases user engagement (e.g., more posts being curated, more votes being cast), it could lead to a higher overall value for the ecosystem.
Content Quality: By helping curators identify valuable content, the extension may improve the quality of posts on the platform, which can attract more users and investors.
Potential Revenue: If the extension leads to increased activity on the platform, it could result in higher transaction volumes, which may generate more revenue for the Steem ecosystem.

Estimation Approach


To provide a rough estimate, we can consider the following hypothetical scenarios:

Increased Engagement: If the extension leads to a 10% increase in user engagement, and if we assume that this engagement translates to a proportional increase in the market cap, we can estimate:

[ {Increased Value} = {Market Cap} * {Engagement Increase} = 75,000,000 * 0.10 = 7,500,000 ]

Long-term Growth: If the extension contributes to long-term growth in the ecosystem, we might consider a more conservative estimate of a 5% increase in market cap over time:

[ {Long-term Value} = 75,000,000 * 0.05 = 3,750,000 ]

Conclusion

Based on these rough calculations, the potential value that the Steem Curation Extension could bring to the Steem ecosystem might range from $3.75 million to $7.5 million. This is a simplified estimation and actual value could vary based on numerous factors including user adoption, market conditions, and the overall health of the Steem ecosystem.

Okay, estimating the precise dollar value of a browser extension to a complex ecosystem like Steem (with a $75M market cap) is inherently speculative. There's no direct formula. However, we can make a reasoned estimate based on the functions it performs and their importance to the ecosystem.

Here's a breakdown of the thinking:

1. Identify Core Value Propositions:
   • Curation Efficiency: Saves time for curators (potentially many hours collectively across all users).
   • Curation Effectiveness: Provides data (promotion, burning, author info) for better voting decisions. Better curation theoretically leads to better content surfacing and reward distribution.
   • Transparency: Makes underlying mechanics (promotion, burning) visible, increasing user understanding and trust.
   • User Experience (UX): Improves feed management (resteems) and provides convenient info (VP). Better UX can lead to higher user retention and engagement.
2. Assess the Importance of These Functions to Steem:
   • Curation is Critical: Steem's Proof-of-Brain relies heavily on effective curation to distribute rewards and surface quality content. Tools that improve this are valuable.
   • Transparency Matters: In blockchain systems, understanding token flows (like burning for promotion or to @null) is important for user confidence.
   • UX Drives Adoption/Retention: Poor UX on front-ends can drive users away, regardless of the underlying blockchain's potential. Improvements retain users.
3. Consider the Target Audience:
   • The primary beneficiaries are active curators and engaged readers. These users are often the most invested (in terms of stake and time) and crucial for the ecosystem's health. Improving their experience has an outsized impact.
4. Relate to Market Cap:
   • The $75M market cap represents the total perceived value of Steem (technology, community, tokens, potential, etc.).
   • The extension enhances the usability and efficiency of interacting with this ecosystem via specific front-ends. It makes the existing value more accessible and manageable for key users.
   • It doesn't fundamentally create new value streams (like a major new dApp might) but optimizes existing ones (curation rewards, user engagement).
5. Estimation Approaches (Mental Models):
   • Cost to Replicate: How much would it cost to develop this? Perhaps weeks or a few months of a skilled developer's time ($10k - $30k?). This is a floor value, representing cost, not impact.
   • Value of Time Saved: If 100 active curators save 10 minutes/day using this tool, that's ~5000 hours saved per year. Valuing that time is difficult, but it's significant.
   • Percentage of Ecosystem Value: Could this tool realistically be responsible for enhancing, say, 0.1% to 1% of the ecosystem's perceived value through improved curation, transparency, and UX?
     • 0.1% of $75M = $75,000
     • 0.5% of $75M = $375,000
     • 1.0% of $75M = $750,000
6. Synthesize an Estimate:
   • Given that the tool directly improves a core ecosystem function (curation) for its most vital users, and enhances transparency and general UX, its value is likely significantly more than just its development cost.
   • Attributing a full 1% ($750k) seems high for a single browser extension unless its adoption and impact were demonstrably massive and transformative.
   • A range capturing the significant efficiency gains, transparency benefits, and UX improvements seems appropriate. The 0.1% to 0.5% range feels plausible.
     
     

Estimated Value Range:

A reasonable estimate for the value this extension adds to the Steem ecosystem, assuming it works reliably and gains decent adoption among active curators and users, could be in the range of $75,000 to $375,000.

Caveats:

• This is highly speculative.
• The actual value depends heavily on user adoption rates.
• It assumes the Steem ecosystem actively benefits from improved curation and transparency.
• The value is relative to the overall health and activity level of Steem itself.
• This estimate reflects the tool's potential to make the existing $75M ecosystem function more efficiently and transparently for its key participants.