The Economics of Community - Steemit is a Currency Backed By Relationships
I have always been a student of Austrian Economics and am a firm believer in Adam Smith's invisible hand. I believe that a market economy, although not always perfect, is the most fair, most prosperous, and least violent way that large groups of people can organize themselves.
It is this belief that drew me to crypto-currencies in the first place. Incredible! With Bitcoin, there was now a technology that could break governments monopoly on money creation. I envisioned an economy populated with competing currencies. Want to use BTC? Use BTC. Ethereum? Sure. Want to use physical silver coins? Go ahead. Still believe in the US dollar? That's great, use it!
Predictably, this is the exact direction that the world appears to be moving. Hundreds of competing crypto-coins are now in the market each with their own characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. Despite there still being much friction between fiat and crypto, or crypto and the wider marketplace, adoption is growing, and new ways to use or acquire crypto-currency are expanding daily. With each new type of coin, each new user, each new marketplace, and each new method to acquire crypto-currency, the central banks become a little less relevant, as do the governments that rely on them. The potential for human liberation that cryto-currency represents is simply breathtaking.
I've been into crypto-currency for a few years, and eventually, I discovered Steemit. Steemit was explained to me as that "killer app" that would combine social media with blockchain technology. I thought about all the Facebook and Twitter users who could potentially move over to Steemit and thought to myself:
So, I invested some Bitcoin into Steem, powered it up, and started to do what I did on Facebook. But alas, Steemit doesn't really work that way. My posts weren't getting any traction, I wasn't making friends or attracting followers, and I couldn't just link articles from my favorite websites and share them. Steemit isn't Facebook or Twitter after all, it works a little differently. So what the hell is it? I needed some help!
Enter the #minnowsupportproject. The minnow support project is the brainchild of Steemit user @aggroed, and is a group dedicated to helping new users succeed on the Steemit platform. I did a big write up about the group the other day, if you would like to check it out.
Joining the minnow support project and entering the P.A.L Discord chanel opened up a lot of resources for me. I asked the group to critique the quality of my posts. I had them rate the quality of my formatting as I had no idea how to use Markdown just a couple of weeks ago. I used the bots, I chatted with other users, I learned to format, I got better at writing, and I was encouraged every step of the way..
But there is so much more happening there. There is money being raised to send people to Steemfest. There are whales helping users from Venezuela, there are rooms devoted to developing different skills, and rooms for social mission posts, or rooms catering to different geographical locations! Communities growing inside communities! And it got me thinking:
Steemit isn't a "killer app" only because it will take social media from Facebook and Twitter. Steemit is a killer app because the economics of Steemit reward giving, helping, encouraging, and growing others!!! Steemit represents the absolute best parts of the market economy. By helping others, building relationships, and growing communities, we can all succeed! Sure, there is competition to create the best content - and there should be. But Steemit is so much more than a place to compete for a rewards pool - Steemit rewards community. It is literally a currency backed by relationships!
It is this ability to create thriving communities that will take over the internet. Think about it, could you imagine if you and all your Facebook friends were all making an extra $20 a day just by interacting? How about $50? or $100? How powerful is that?
It is this facet of Steemit that I am so happy to be a part of, so excited to participate in, and so eager to bring to the outside world. I can't stand the idea of people joining Steemit just to get discouraged and never come back, so I would like to welcome them to our community and help them grow.
I think the concept of Steemit is nice and might become more popular. I think in the future different websites similar to Steemit will start to emerge.
Yes, but don't forget that this is a blockchain.. You can build a different portal or website on top of it - and add features as you see fit. This comment was written from https://busy.org NOT https://steemit.com for example
It will also take some changes in order to really catch on like Twitter and Facebook.
For example: People can follow me on Twitter and when they see a Tweet that is a reply to something else, they might like that Tweet. But, if they don't see the original post in Steem, they don't see the comment I made.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, but the interesting thing about Steemit being a blockchain is that there are people developing other websites and apps built on top of it. Features will expand ...
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by snubbermike from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
This steemit surprised me in a positive way, its so much better and has more potential than other similar sites.