RE: The Steemit Ponzi scheme discussion - some common questions
Hi @churdtzu,
Thanks for writing and sharing this with us, and what a great title. Is Steemit a Ponzi Scheme is worth a discussion, especially for those just joining Steemit, or for those who have been on the sidelines uncertain whether or not to join or participate by contributing to the community.
I'd have to agree with @chaospoet, I don't feel like a pawn at all. We are all working together to help build and establish the platform and currency. When we contribute to Steemit, we not only contribute to the community by being helpful and sharing our expertises, experiences, and strengths, but we are also helping build the cryptocurrency as well.
The definition of Ponzi Scheme according to Google is: a form of fraud in which belief in the success of a nonexistent enterprise is fostered by the payment of quick returns to the first investors from money invested by later investors.
With that being said, and I'm not sure about everyone else, but I haven't invested any money in the platform, but I'm still reaping the benefits, so how can Steemit be a Ponzi Scheme when it doesn't even remotely come close to the definition of a Ponzi Scheme?
And then we have those who complain about the whales, but why even complain when they aren't taking any money from us. If anything, the whales are helping. Yeah, some of us started with nothing but I guarantee you that if you stick with Steemit and contribute regularly, you will eventually have a breakthrough and reap the benefits that the platform gives so freely.
My suggestion to anyone who is doubtful of the platform, try it and give it time. Post content regularly, join the conversation, share and upvote content that you love,and you will be successful on Steemit in some way, form or shape.
Upvoted!
Thanks again for writing this and sharing it with us.
Thanks @albertfall. I agree, we are building something here, and that's something which a lot of the critics are quick to overlook. People are putting in hard work to construct something, and it happens to be a site with a lot of content that search engines love.
I just did a little test, googling "how to make peanut butter fudge prison", to find an article that I read on Steemit earlier, that was posted about 8 hours ago. It came up eighth on the front page. This article comes up second on Google when I search for "Steemit Ponzi scheme". This platform really has the power to dominate search engines, and that's definitely something that not a lot of Ponzi schemes can do, or even most businesses.
Re: whales... I've read that, when you ask someone why their idea failed, people generally respond in one of two ways:
According to this little idea, the people who talk more about their own actions are the people who tend to be more successful. Seems to ring true in my experience, and it's also much more satisfying to focus on my own actions than wonder what could have happened if some external factor were changed.
Thanks for your comment and upvote, and have a good one!
You nailed it again @churdtzu,
Critics are overlooking that we are indeed helping build a social media platform as well as a cryptocurrency.
If we go back in time, circa 2004, a social media platform had just launched in beta, and its future was undecided. Critics weren't sure if the platform had any validity, and some betted against its success. That platform is Facebook, and today it boasts over 1.7 billion users.
Just like all new platforms that emerge, there will be critics and they will be silenced when the platform is successful.
Ranking on Google quickly isn't easy, and I didn't realize that Steemit content ranked so well on Google. This is great news because Google tends to love you (websites) when everyone else (users) loves you first. This tells me that Steemit is on the right road.
When it comes to whales and people criticizing the reward aspect of the platform, you're right. People tend to give things a try, but not long enough to allow themselves to succeed, or they cite other cases where people failed. There is a small subset however who do put in work and hustle every day until they succeeded or have a breakthrough, and that subset is us and the others who contribute to Steemit.
This reminds me of a quote by Henry Ford that goes a little something like this "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." And this couldn't ring truer on Steemit or any area in life where a mindset change is required to be successful.
Remember everyone that success on Steemit or anywhere else requires a mindset change. Change your mindset, and you can very well change the outcome.
Thanks again @churdtzu!