The power of reciprocation

In recent days, it has become apparent that reciprocation is what makes Steemit work. Reciprocation is the basis of all human prosperity. I share an idea with you and we are richer for it. I am richer because I enjoy sharing ideas. You are richer because you may find my idea useful. Yet, neither one of us is poorer for sharing an idea, either as recipient or giver.

While responding to someone's post on Steemit, I made the following observation:

The power of reciprocation tends compounds over time.

When people give each other attention, that is reciprocity:

rec·i·proc·i·ty
ˌresəˈpräsədē/
noun

1. the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted by one country or organization to another.

Reciprocity can come in many forms:

Attention
Trade
Service
Correspondence
Fellowship
Love

Reciprocation is part of what makes humanity work so well, despite all of our flaws. It is through reciprocity that people are motivated to cooperate. When we cooperate, we create friendships, families, businesses and reach lofty goals for humanity.

As I work on Steemit, I'm posting articles, curating, commenting and generally interacting with others on the platform. With each interaction, I'm spreading goodwill, and people will remember that. If I help someone in some way, even a small way, people will remember that, too.

Conversely, if I use the word against another, cause distress, incite argument for arguments sake, and generally, work against the happiness of others, people will reciprocate in kind. They will rain (hell) on my parade, so to speak. If you want a negative experience on Steemit, be negative. Being negative on Steemit compounds over time, as well.

While I do enjoy writing and posting articles, I find inspiration in reading articles posted by others and commenting on them. Whatever I can contribute in the form of a comment, increases visibility for their article as well. When people see an article I've commented on, that comment shows up in the numbers. When I see an article with a lot of comments, I find that more useful as an indicator of interest than a lot of upvotes, and I suspect that others do, too.

When I'm on the receiving end, I am happy to see people commenting on my articles. I see that somebody felt it was worth the time and effort to read my article, consider a response and articulate that response in a comment. As much as I appreciate an upvote, I appreciate a comment just as much because a comment gives me insight into my audience. I can see how people have interpreted my writing and see if the message that I wanted to convey got through to anybody.

When people comment on my article, I am then interested in reviewing their profile and if I like their content, I will follow them, too. From there, I may find other articles that I like and can comment on, too. Every comment raises my visibility to other users, so I keep it positive and try to avoid engaging in debates or, "raining on someone else's parade". I am ever mindful of the amygdala, the part of the brain that associates pain and pleasure with a stimulus. You can probably guess what I'm aiming for here.

Another thing I keep in mind when I write is that I'm not afraid to be wrong. If someone points out a logical, grammatical or spelling error, I'm happy to address it. If someone wants to debate me, I'm ready. I don't mind. I keep debates friendly and honest. I'm not interested in winning, I'm interested in checking my own assumptions, my own perceptions.

I think it's important to note that reciprocity is everywhere. In physics, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. There is even a reciprocating engine that is used in cars everywhere.

There is reciprocity in life. Animals cooperate and compete with each other. Predators don't eat all of their prey as a function of natural selection. Predators and prey evolve over time to adapt to each other and a changing environment, and they do so while reciprocating.

Members of the same species cooperate, and reciprocate, too. Ants are a prime example of this. Ants communicate with each other, leave trails for each other, and share food with each other. They defend each other from common adversaries.

Primates are often observed to be pruning each other for attention, nitpicking, as it were. They give each other attention, they help each other, they play with each other. All of these activities are forms of reciprocity.

In social media, the power of reciprocation is that it is contagious. Pick your favorite social media platform, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook (well, maybe not Facebook), and you'll see reciprocity in action. But there is a distinction to be made between all of the other mainstream social media platforms and Steemit. On Steemit, the power of reciprocity compounds. Not just with social interaction, but with money.

In a very financial sense, reciprocity compounds on Steemit. People tend to upvote each other. Every upvote incurs a slice of the reward pool that is generated each day. People tend to comment on each others' posts, too. There are even voting circles where people just vote for each other (I'm not sure if this kind of behavior benefits Steemit, but I've seen it). Every interaction has potential for an upvote, and every upvote means Steem, Steem Based Dollars and eventually, Steem Power.

As more people use Steemit, demand for Steem and Steem Based Dollars grows. Demand for Steem and SBD grows because people who use Steemit can "power up" from Steem to Steem Power, giving them a greater slice of the reward pool each day. SBD can be converted to Steem and then powered up, as well. It is a virtuous circle of reciprocity, one that I have yet to see on any other social networking platform.

When first introduced, Steem sold for a few cents each. SBD was pegged to the US Dollar to be worth about one dollar. The demand for Steem and SBD is now so great that the peg is broken and Steem and SBD are trading at $2.84 and $2.24 respectively. The popularity of Steemit is growing. As more people use the platform, the price of Steem and SBD will continue to increase relative to the US Dollar.

So not only does reciprocation compound with each interaction on Steemit, so too the past earnings on Steemit as the value of Steem and SBD rises. It is because of this pattern that I keep coming back. I keep posting here because I can't think of a better place to post my articles and maintain the creative license to write what I want to write about.

I write on Steemit because I know that every effort made on Steemit will compound with interest. After all, this is an attention economy.

Other articles you might enjoy by @digitalfirehose:


Plan B for Humanity

A basic guaranteed income in the context of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A sort of political movie review: Star Wars: Rogue One

Happiness isn't getting everything you want - happiness is a skill

The opposite of love is not hate, it is apathy

Fate, impunity and altruism