Bitcoin vs. Tulips
I had a conversation by SMS with a friend of mine about cryptocurrencies and the recent bull run in the crypto market. It is somewhat annoying to hear the tulip mania comparison time and a again. Now, I will readily admit that cryptocurrency valuations are extremely speculative at the moment. But the tulip bulb comparisons are rather stupid. Tulips are plants. Cryptocurrencies are software. Cryptocurrencies are constantly under development. If you want to express a negative view of the cryptocurrency market at this moment, a much much better analogy is the Internet stock bubble twenty years ago. The man had a career in IT before self-funded retirement a few years ago, so think he should understand the difference.
I've also told him about Steem and recommended that he create a Steem account on Steemit for himself and told him that I recently had a conversation like that with someone on Steem and got paid $5 just for having a conversation I would've had anyway. I told him I had enough Steem Power, of my own and delegated, that my likes were each worth 15 c. He quipped that he'd go to work if he needed money. On what grounds would anyone refuse free money? If someone offered me monetary rewards for scratching my ass with no strings attached (no pun intended), I'd take the money. And don't get me started on Facebook where people allow an extremely detailed digital fingerprint of their personalities to be created and analyzed by powerful analytics tools by Facebook and let Zuckerberg sell that information to advertisers for no compensation whatsoever other having the opportunity to use the platform. Steem is completely superior except for the fact that it doesn't have everybody and their dog on board - yet.
I cant believe he gave that as an answer. I dont know why some people are scared of trying new things out. I introduced a couple of friend too. They didnt get back to me, so I thought it would be later before they realize.
We were having the conversation in writing anyway via SMS. My friend has never had a social media account. He rarely calls me on the phone but sometimes he sends me text messages to give me links or references to things he wants to talk about. We meet maybe once every couple of months these days.
If your friends are in Nigeria, posting on Steem could work quite well for them financially. I would assume the cost of living to be rather modest compared to Western Europe or North America in Nigeria.
Really, that is kind of rare not to have at least one social media account, in this age. Well, i guess he prefers the physical meetings than online.
Yeah, with the recent spike in SBD, it could generate something worthwhile for friends living in Nigeria. And moreso, if its consistent for the whole month, it should be able to serve the minimal basic needs on a moderate level.
I have been wondering why we have so much gap in cost of living in Western Europe, US and North America.
Actually, with 1 SBD at 10 usd, 100 SBD will pay the rent for a good house, for one full year in Nigeria, at least in most cities. And around 700-1000 SBD will get you an expensive house. However, the rent many times requires you to pay for services separately.
Really, that is kind of rare not to have at least one social media account, in this age. Well, i guess he prefers the physical meetings than online.
My friend is quite the introvert. He prefers spending time alone very much. He loves to hike alone.
I have been wondering why we have so much gap in cost of living in Western Europe, US and North America.
Salaries are much higher in WE and NE compared to Nigeria. GDP per capita is 15 to 25 times higher in Western Europe. Income inequality is much higher in Nigeria than in both WE and NE. The producers of basic goods and services (food, housing, transportation etc.) whose prices best represent the cost of living are mostly people with income close to the national median. With very high income inequality you can have a not-so-low average level of income in spite of having the middle deciles having quite low levels of income.
You are right with the data. However, it is more worrisome that the "average level" of income are luxuries, because such average jobs are mostly governmental. For private sectors, you would be willing to cope and manage with the barest minimum they can pay. Jobs are not everywhere like in WE and NE. And moreso, basic amenities are privileges, because of decades of corruptions. So an average person income would be spent on basic amenities at higher cost. Imagine, wifi are not as common and cheap as in WE and NE, also electricity is not a 24/7, despite government spending billions of dollars on it. Someday, the right leaders will emerge.
I think you can do a little help by searching posts under "nigeria" tag from new, trending to hot. You would know that as much as those conditions exist, Nigerians have alot to offer.
I think this post raises a few issues, so want to deal with each independently:
Cryptocurrency mania is like the dot-com boom: Having lived through the latter (I had, like, 48,000 options in a company that went nowhere), I would agree. Ultimately, cryptocurrencies are poised to be transformative, but no single cryptocurrency is the clear long-term winner yet. That's the important part; we can't pick the winners now. Go back to the dot-com years and see how many companies from back then simply don't exist anymore. Think Bitcoin's the winner long-term? Ever heard of Yahoo!?
Not wanting to participate on Steem due to financial reward: I get this from an economic perspective, as it's the declining marginal utility of an additional dollar. If your friend is independently wealthy, it makes sense not to be motivated as much by the money. However, if your friend is already participating in social media, but not Steem, then there should be other motivations at play. For one, the conversation on Steem (from what I've seen so far) is better than most of social media, due to the reward structure. For two, the capture-attention-sell-to-advertisers model in other social media channels is hurting users, and society. So perhaps your friend can join and donate his Steem to a worthy cause (does Steemit make this easy?).
Speaking of Bitcoin, I think the entire future of BTC depends on second-tier scaling solutions such as the Lightning Network. I have decided not to invest in Bitcoin any longer but buy alts instead. The bull run of Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Dash, IOTA, ZCash and a few up and coming coins has demonstrated that they are fully capable of taking Bitcoin's place if it should stagnate.
My friend doesn't have a Facebook account, either, and I think he quipped he did not want the money just because I suggested that he join Steem for the monetary benefits. He is certainly wealthy enough to not need to work for a living but that is a much more a function of his low expenses than his high net worth. He is a bachelor and has no children and, apart from travel, has always led an Uncle Scrooge kind of lifestyle. My friend had a 15-year career as a research engineer working for a major corporation, the division of which he worked at fell victim to creative destruction. After that, he decided he'd had enough of serving a corporation. I don't think he could very well afford to be a patron of anything. He lacks social media presence and may have been reluctant to join Steem to begin with but I sensed a whiff of contempt for earning money by means as tulipy or otherwise suspicious as Steem. ;) (I had explained Steem to him in a conversation that took place several months earlier.)
People have to be looking for an opportunity to be open when opportunity calls. For some people, life is comfortable enough and they don't want to change that.
Well, it certainly seems that way. When push comes to shove my friend is quite conservative. It's fine. I will never raise the topic of cryptocurrencies with him again. Except perhaps if or when I get to experience markedly positive monetary effects of my investments on the fiat side of things. ;)
I agree with you, we are getting rewards of worth for our efforts on Steemit, which no other platform does. Thanks for sharing.
Have a great day and stay blessed.
I agree with you, we are getting rewards of worth for our efforts on Steemit, which no other platform does. Thanks for sharing.
Have a great day and stay blessed.p
Copy-paste spammer.