Steemit is the beginning of a bigger revolution

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We're so used to the walled gardens like facebook and google, that demand information, data mine and then ultimately profit from users for their free services. 

Why are they free? 

Well like most of the web it's advertising. We've had to install plugins like adblock to avoid the constant bombardment of ads. Sponsored posts show up on our facebook and twitter feeds featuring content we probably don't want to see. 

That's not even the worst part, your data is sold. Large companies gather user data for many purposes. Some of it is, market research, acquiring new customers and even the government demanding information on users. 

So sure, in some sense it's free but what are you selling? You're selling the one thing that you should truly own, your identity. You create content, you post to reddit and all of these free services make friendly interfaces but with your content, history, and interactions they use it to generate advertising dollars.

Many years ago google even admitted to scanning user emails to better target ads to users. Everything you do online with traditional business models, unlike steemit while it's seemingly free has been sold, monetized and packaged. You're no longer you, you're a number in a huge database that tracks what you do, who you are, what you like, and all for the profit of big corporations and governments to know about you. 

Steemit is the beginning of getting rewarded for what you create, while exposing as much information as you desire. Together we can fight to own the most precious thing of all, ourselves and who we are. We don't need to give up everything, to use services that harvest our identity like a giant sponge. 

In a recent talk Tim Berners Lee, the creator of the world wide web who gave his invention away for free, said it's time to take the internet back. It's time we choose who gets access to our data, how it's used and who profits. Well steemit shows that a service can run where users profit, and share the wealth, for many of us it's the beginning of a revolution. Business doesn't have to keep running as "usual", instead of money getting sucked out and making a few very very rich, the wealth is spread around to the individual. 

The source of all these problems is money and value, and our society has pushed towards stripping away the rights and capabilities of individuals and their ability to get their fair share of the pie. Steemit has pulled back the veil for many of us, and shown us that a sharing economy works, and monolithic organizations that funnel profit to the top will not own us for long. Soon the revitalized open internet and business models like steemit will show us the way. Convenience is one thing, but convenience at the sake of our own detriment is insanity in the long run. Innovation is the key and platforms like steemit also transcend the laser focus of the cryptocurrency scene to gather huge amounts of new users who just want what already should be theirs. 

We're all taught to share as children, but the "real" world said the bullies get to keep all the toys. Well now it's time to show that reality really isn't what it should be, but it can be. It's time to flip the models we know upside down. It does take a first grader to explain this because they haven't been tainted by the unjust realities forced upon us, and they know that sharing is what the world is about.

[all images produced with free stock images from imgflip.com]