"Steemit Is A Scammy Pyramid Scheme"

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I have just stormed away from twitter for the second time in the last 7 days. I try to explain Steemit to people and they continually cry, "It's a scam + a pyramid scheme!"

I don't get where they are coming from. I have been here and enjoyed reading great content. That feeling of having a space on the internet where hatred and the cruel realities that are killing people can be put on hold to be mentally fed.

I explain that I've submitted bugs into Github. I tell them that it is an experiment and to reserve judgement. I send them the best post I've read in the past week that are still challenging me to think differently.

But nothing convinces them. Nothing sinks in.

Even after people have cashed out to buy groceries with their STEEM and fuel stealth startups.

I was in a fury, but soon realized the question I needed to answer was why did I like Steemit so much? What am I looking for in my online time? How is Steemit meeting that need?

People who are judgers and maximalists, don't consider the full story.

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I come from a background where communities were strong before I was a teenager. And from a Dominican heritage, where people outside of your family spent time with you, found out how you were doing, and more or less cared about your well being as the @dollarvigilante has experienced.

This all came crashing down for my when my parents divorced. That Disney-esqe happy ending view of the world was replaced with a different type of community that wasn't quite the same.

Since then, I've always loved school for the communities it had. It gave me a common ground where I could meet people.

And this continued on until I got into corporate America. While it paid well, everyone walked felt the pressure of their authorities.

People would give you glimpses of themselves until a boss showed up to make sure everyone got back to work. It wasn't like these co-workers were lazy. They were very reliable and their results at meetings proved this. But that continual snuffing out of culture and community happened at most corporations I saw or visited.

This all changed when I arrived at Bitcoin Magazine.

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Inside A Community Of Free Thinkers

I was a small time tadpole bitcoin blogger and I somehow convinced Inside Bitcoin NYC that I should get a press pass. They asked me to display their banner for an upcoming NYC conference and write a post encouraging people to go and I got my pass.

This was a unique opportunity to step away from the computer and see people IRL. Unlike online interactions there is a very palpable energy you get after talking to several entrepreneurs and Bitcoin miners. Back then, I was pretty isolated for having an enthusiasm in Bitcoin among my peers. But at this conference, everyone got it.

And I got a freelance writing gig at Bitcoin Magazine after speaking with Elizabeth Ploshay.

This was also the first time I met @charlieshrem who opened the top floor of his club to all conference attendees.
I started getting that good vibe again and spent most of my time talking to a cryptocurrency miner (you can call him Al), who was raking in thousands a week just by adjusting his mining rigs to anticipate the markets.

What I took away from this experience was a strong sense of community.

When I worked at Bitcoin Magazine and eventually became Editor-In-Chief among anarchist writers and bitcoin business owners I felt the same sense of community (with a pinch of independent spirit). We were all in the same boat and there was a mutual benefit to looking out for each other, promoting our projects, and challenging each other to be better.

This feeling went away when our entire Bitcoin Magazine staff was laid off around Thanksgiving 2014.

But I feel a sense of community here at steemit.com.

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(I need to learn how not to write happy endings)
I love getting comments that I need to raise my game and not let a moderately tipped post fool me into complacency.

I realize that I need to stop rushing to defend Steemit with people who aren't even willing to write a fucking post and test out the system for themselves.

It is free to do, dammit!

And I need to appreciate those here who are challenging me to write better and be a better person.

(cue confetti)

All images are from unsplash.com except the confetti image, which is from giphy.

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Am I the only one who is told this site is a scam? How do you deal with this?

I've forwarded the STEEM whitepaper to some folks and people won't read it, should I give up trying to demonstrate the good I see in steemit.com and just hog it all to myself?