Steemit Crypto Academy Season 2 Week 5 Homework Task for @yousafharoonkhan

Social media is one of the biggest development with technology. Most people's lives revolve around social media; businesses, relationships and so forth. Professor @yousafharoonkhan has explained Centralized and Decentralized social media in a very simple and understandable fashion. I would be handling the assignments without further ado.

Definition of Decentralized and Centralized Social Media Platforms

Centralized Social Media Platform

Anything that is tagged with the word "Centralized" means that that thing has a body that handles management and governs every activity concerning that particular thing. A centralized social media platform is a social network that is governed or controlled by a central authority. As a result of this, users are limited to activities they can perform in the centralized social media. Popular examples are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Decentralized Social Media Platform

A decentralized social media platform is a model that does not have a central authority that governs the network, instead, users have full control of their activities and the information they contribute to the network.

Differences Between Centralized and Decentralized Social Media Platforms

• The major difference between these two social media models is found in their definitions. A centralized social media has a central authority that governs activities in the platform, while a decentralized social media does not have any form of authority that controls the network.

• Centralized social media is very susceptible to hacking. This happens a lot in the centralized social media. The decentralized social media platform cannot be hacked.

• In a centralized social media platform, an account can be recovered if a user loses his login details. In a decentralized social media platform, users are given "keys" to their accounts and these keys can never be recovered if they get lost. This poses a problems but decentralized platforms make attempts to teach users how to manage security.

• In a centralized social media platform, accounts can be suspended for whatsoever reason by the central authority. In a decentralized social media platform, the absence of a central authority implies that nobody has the ability to disable someone else's account. Users are given full control of their own accounts in a decentralized model.

• Centralized social media platforms present restrictions to users' activities. A decentralized social media platform does not present any form of restriction. This becomes a problem in some cases when an account would be used to spam other users or to distribute phishing links to compromise the network.

Which One is The Future of Social Media?

The centralized model of social media is the most popular. Social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are widely used around the globe. Social media has become the bridge that links people worldwide. Language barrier has been destroyed, cultures have intertwined because social media has bridged the gap that once existed between societies.

But as social media keeps growing, people want more. People want more privacy and freedom in the cyber space. Centralized social media has failed to provide this. In my opinion, the decentralized social media platform is the future of social media because it offers the privacy, freedom and transparency that people yearn for.

This is the beginning of the "Blockchain Age". So many concepts have already been built using blockchain technology. It's only a matter of time before Decentralized Social Media Platforms become widely used.

How Steemit Decentralization Social Media is better than Twitter and Facebook

Steemit offers what Facebook and Twitter offer. You connect with people worldwide and get information from around the globe. But it offers much more;

• Privacy: The decentralized nature of Steemit offers total privacy. Users' data is secured and only information that the user puts out, is made public to the network. This is a very big area where social media giants like Facebook and Twitter failed.

• Control: Facebook and Twitter have control of the accounts of users. An example can be traced to earlier this year. A popular Nigerian influencer, Tunde Ednut, had his Instagram account suspended. He created a new account which got so many followers in a little space of time, only to have that account also suspended on the same day it was created.
  Steemit offers 100% control over your account. Such incidents like the one I mentioned is impossible in a decentralized social media platform like Steemit.

• Security: Steemit offers total security. When an account is created, the user is given "keys" that are necessary for every operation concerning the account. An account cannot be hacked on Steemit.
  There have been so many occasions when data of Facebook users were compromised. Steemit offers an ecosystem where security of user data is optimum.

• A better medium of passive (or active) source of income: Social Media has long been used as a source of income. While Facebook and Twitter offer this only in the forms of advertising or affiliate marketing, Steemit offers this simply by blogging.
  Steemit makes "money-making" look as easy as pie. Users create write-ups that are voted by other users. The content creators earn rewards in the form of Steem or Steem backed dollars through the votes that they get from their contents. It is that simple.
  The platform can still be used for advertising purposes but the blogging aspect is the main function.

How does Steemit Social Media change the lives of millions of its users?

From personal experience, Steemit has really changed my life in so many over a short period of time.

• Motivation: Before I joined Steemit in January of 2021, I would just wake up in the morning and spend my whole day being unproductive. I would watch movies and be active on WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram doing nothing that benefited me. I tried affiliate marketing but it didn't work out well for me. I would spend all my money on sports betting, and anyone who has gambled before would know that you lose a lot more than you win (that is if you ever win at all).
  Right now, I have a reason to get up early everyday. I have a reason to go to sleep on time. I spend the hours of the day on Steemit and the night-time to sleep. I can't remember the last time I spent unproductive hours on Instagram and Twitter.
  Steemit has motivated me and a whole lot of people to do something that would be worth our time.

• Education: Steemit is a platform that has educated people in so many ways. I'm a member of a few communities. When I joined FurFriends, I learned a lot about animals. Also, the Crypto Academy has been a blessing in my life. I have always wanted to be very conversant with crypto space and this community has helped in ways that all the write-ups put in the internet could not.
  Steemit educates it's members in life-changing ways.

• Creativity: I never liked writing (even till now). As a result of this, I'm not always capable of producing satisfactory content when it comes to writing. Steemit has changed that for me. I am currently putting in lots of effort when it comes to content creation because of this platform. Steemit helps users to improve their creativity.

• Source of Income: Steemit is a very good source of income for its users and has helped solved so many problems where money is required. Steemit is a very reliable source of income.

How to make Money with Steemit Decentralized Social Media

Steem and Steem Backed Dollars are mined on the Steemit Blockchain. These cryptocurrencies are obtained by users. I would explain how to make money with Steemit.

• Content Creation: Steemit rewards users who make good write-ups. Users create write-ups on the Steemit platform. The post would be voted by other users. After a period of 7 days, rewards would be obtained from the votes that the post got. This is basically how to make money on Steemit.
  Steem, Steem Dollars and Tronix are given as rewards for satisfactory contents. The blockchain frowns against using someone else's work in parts or full as your own (plagiarism).

• Curation: Curation on the Steemit blockchain means to vote. Curators receive rewards from voting. Only accounts with large amount of Steem Power (SP) can have an influence on posts. Because of this, it is advisable to grow you SP in order to leverage your position in the blockchain.
  The rewards are split 50-50 between authors and curators. This means that authors get 50% of the rewards for their post, while the other 50% is shared between the curators.

How to Create a Community on Steemit Social Media

The professor explained how to create a community in a simple manner. I would create a community called "Steem4life" for my illustration.

• Step 1: Login to Steemit (https://steemit.com/)

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• Step 2: Select "Steemit" on the top left corner.

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• Step 3: Select "All posts". A drop down list would appear.

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• Step 4: Select "Explore Communities"

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• Step 5: Select "Create a Community"

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• Step 6: You would be redirected to your wallet and required to fill in the "TITLE" and "ABOUT" of the community. Select "NEXT" after filling the required fields.

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• Step 7: The Owner Name and Password would be displayed. Save the password and tick the given box. Select "Create Community"

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• Step 8: You would be asked to pay 3 Steem for the creation process. Select "OK" to proceed.

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• Step 9: Input your key and select "Sign in" to proceed.

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• Step 10: Your community has been created. Select "Get Started"

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• Step 11: Congratulations. You have successfully created a community.

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Conclusion

Decentralization is rapidly taking over every aspect of digital technology. It is only a matter of time till decentralized social media platforms become popular. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter would have competition on their hands if they don't let go of the traditional centralized model and begin to embrace decentralization.

Special thanks to @yousafharoonkhan