Blockchain technology is one of those things that confuses a lot of people.

It's confusing because of the technology itself: it's not easy to wrap your head around the idea of decentralized transaction systems that don't require a trusted party to operate with honesty and transparency.

I mean, have you ever tried to explain a decentralized system to someone for the first time? It's not easy. You have to somehow demonstrate how having your transaction history on thousands of random computers across the world is somehow MORE secure than keeping it in with a central authority.

So, when it comes to people who make the refrain that there's no use for blockchain technology or Bitcoin, there aren't a lot of examples that make sense to people.

Enter: STEEMIT

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Steemit is the platform that demonstrates EXACTLY how useful a blockchain can be.

You don't need to explain to people much at all about the technology itself to demonstrate the usefulness of the system.

The introductory conversation usually goes something like this:

You

"Steemit is a social media or blogging platform -- a lot like Reddit or Fadebook or Medium -- where you can post written content or pictures -- or even video, now -- and it gets stored on the blockchain of the cryptocurrency Steem."

Them

"Well, what's the point of that? Why not just use Facebook or Medium?"

You

"Well, you remember that whole thing a few weeks ago with Facebook selling user data to Cambridge Analytica during the election? Or how Twitter and YouTube remove users who don't break the TOS but rather post content that's politically incorrect?"

Them

"Yeah, I know about that -- that's bullshit!"

You

"Indeed. That can't happen on Steemit. Because of the security of the blockchain content cannot just be removed because other people don't like it. And since there's no central authority running proprietary algorithms on your data, there's nothing valuable for them to sell."

Them

"Ok, well that's cool -- what else?"

You

"So, Facebook and Twitter don't produce any actual content themselves. Their platforms are valuable to advertisers because of what YOU and ME create for them. They make billions of dollars in advertising because of us without actually producing any content themselves, and you never see ANY of that action. Doesn't that seem unfair? And even though YouTube does have a monetization system in place, they selectively decide who is allowed to use it, content gets switched on and off arbitrarily, and entire accounts get demonetized simply for talking about topics that aren't politically correct."

Them

"Oh, yeah, I can't stand that stuff! They're taking the hard work of the user and making money off of it and we never see any of that! Unfair!"

You

"I totally agree. And that's another thing that's different about Steemit: on Steemit you get paid for curation, not by an advertiser."

Them

"Paid by curation? What does that mean?"

You

"Well, it's just like upvotes on YouTube, or likes on Facebook, except the votes themselves are actually worth something. You get paid by your followers liking your content. Or, if you decide you don't want to be a content creator but rather just use the platform as a discovery system for your own entertainment, you're still going to get paid for curating content. Isn't that cool?!"

Them

"Yeah! It's totally rad to the MAX! I'm signing up right now!"

Content is key

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When I first learned about Bitcoin, one of the more interesting features was that you could save a certain amount of data along with the transaction.

When I learned about that I automatically thought: Why would we need a contract legal system when we could simply use a blockchain?

If you are buying a car or getting married or doing anything else that requires a contract, you could simply make a minimum transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain and that would be an absolute proof of contract.

The existence of blockchains that accept content completely remove the need for things like contract lawyers or notaries.

With Steemit it's not just an extra feature: it's the primary feature.

The content is the purpose for the blockchain, which gives it a use that is so apparent that it can't be denied.

If someone asks "What's the point of Steem", you can point to the blockchain that is the database for the Steemit platform, which has over 50,000 active users per day and over 8000 new users signing up every day.

What do you think?

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To me, Steemit is the answer to "What's the point of cryptocurrency?"

It's nice to be involved with something in this space that doesn't sound like a religion.

So many people say "just trust it" or "you wouldn't understand" when people ask them too much about their favorite crypto. but with Steem the point is CLEAR and PRESENT:

"It's the content, stupid!"

Follow me @shayne