I am fairly new to Steemit. I guess everyone is. I really like how many original and creative posts this platform has. I do think Steemit is missing out on something though. The majority of the posts on platforms such as Reddit and Voat is not original prose. They are simple hyperlinks to other sites, and I think they are invaluable as well.

Hyperlinks add value

It is easy to discard these posts as adding nothing to the platform. After all, it doesn't 'create' content in the same way and only dilutes the original posts. I do not think that is entirely fair though. A hyperlink does add value. The value of discovering something you might otherwise have missed. Now sure, it is easier to post a link than to be creative and make something yourself, but the vast majority of content is (and likely always will be) outside of the platform on other sites. Obviously having this content available to this platform would be good for everyone; a larger audience for those websites and more content for Steemit users.

Experience and Payout

But then there are some problems that are not easily solvable. The first possibility would be to keep the system the same. Instead of writing a text post, you paste the URL and post. This doesn't look too nice and might discourage voters. So far there have been some posts that tried to 'cover up' the fact that they are link posts; sometimes there is a small description or an image. That doesn't add much value though. Maybe having a preview of the content there, similar to Reddit, would be a better way to present link posts. But then there is a problem with payout; a good post on another website should have the same amount of upvotes if it is equally good, but the poster should not receive the same payout. The obvious and equally horrible solution would then be to make an exception for the payout. Maybe there could simply be a smaller reward. Ideally, the original author would receive most of the reward, but this would require action from the author, who then might as well post it to Steemit themselves.

I think URL posts would be a good addition, but I currently don't see how they can be implemented in a way that distributes the rewards fairly that wouldn't require protocol changes. I do think it is wise to aspire to their addition though, as it would fit perfectly in the platform.