Assets vs. Liabilities: The Case of Steemit vs. Facebook

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Hello Steemians!

In my latest post entitled My Kind of Steemit Promotion, I mentioned that I rarely used Facebook nowadays. With that in mind, I dedicate this whole post in detailing why I rarely used Facebook.

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This post will be more on the economic aspect of social media as a whole, but I will not restrict myself in pointing out the reasons why Facebook became a distaste to my palate.

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Before I discuss the economic reasons, let me properly define first the two economic terms mentioned in the title: assets and liabilities. Assets are any expenditures that provide future economic benefit, while liabilities are anything that can cause future obligation.

Economic Considerations

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As you might agree, Facebook became an economic burden especially to those who became addicted to it. It is a liability. With every click, Facebook is earning and capitalizing your time of stay in the site through paid advertisements. You, on the other hand, are losing something that could be translated to monetary value.

While Facebook is earning, you have incurred an economic burden through data usage (if you're using your mobile phone), Wi-Fi or broadband subscription, (if you're connected through internet service providers), electric bills (from charging your gadgets), gadgets used (both from buying the gadget and its depreciation cost), and lost time (monetary equivalence of time lost in Facebook instead of doing something that could return value).

Now, here comes steemit!

With the introduction of steemit, I rarely used Facebook because I dedicate my time on doing something that returns value to me.

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As pointed out by @jassennessaj on his comment in my latest post, "steemit is a revelation of social media". That phrase concisely characterizes steemit based on the eyes of a promoter.

For me, steemit is the new revolution of social media. It is the paradigm shift and if we are so pessimistic in our response towards its authenticity, we will be left behind in the revolution.

"Steem - An incentivized, blockchain-based, public content platform" - Steem White Paper (August 2017)

In my understanding of that tagline, it means that you are paid by your blog post, comments, or curation by a cryptocurrency. In a sense, you get something in return just by utilizing the site. Since you get something in return, it can be categorized as an asset.

Question: Why would you continue utilizing a liability when an asset has paved its way to you?

As for me, I have embraced the paradigm shift and I am now utilizing an asset. No need to worry about the future because the future has come and we are now experiencing it.

Turning Liabilities into Assets

I find this topic exciting! Turning liabilities into is sure to be challenging, but there's always a way. Consider this example:
What if we use the mainstream social media to advertise steemit? Promoting steemit on mainstream social media has no tangible and immediate return, however; the long-term benefit is inherent. Once you influence someone to use steemit, he will immediately become your follower. Increasing your followers lead to more network which then translates to more visibility. We know that more visibility is beneficial for us, considering that our posts are valued based on the upvotes of other users in the community.

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Our gadgets are considered liabilities, but if we use them for activities that could return value in the future, these gadgets become our assets. In my case, my mobile phone and laptop are my liabilities before I joined steemit. Right now, they have become my valued possessions.

Other Reasons Why I Rarely Use Facebook

Technically speaking, this post would have ended already, but I pointed out earlier that I would not restrict myself from mentioning other reasons why I rarely use Facebook. Here are some of them:

1. Facebook became a toxic place where everyone is meddling with everyone's drama. I guess this is self-explanatory. I don't have to expound it further. This is why I prefer Twitter because people in Twitter really don't care about your drama. Mainly because they have their own drama, too!
2. Facebook is a place where people are flaunting that their lives are much better than others. Change of profile pictures are done too often to show that they have all what it takes to be in the latest trends.
3. Facebook is a resort to those who can't say things in person. You know there's something going on because someone made a status detailing why he hates the other guy without mentioning any names. The other guy will then reply with a status that counters the tirades of the previous one. The exchange of status updates will then continue until someone yields to the other, which rarely happens.
4. Facebook is a hub of 'fake news' peddlers. For the sake of hoping to grab people's attention, some are so eager to concoct false information or incomplete stories. This is to appeal the emotion of the unaware public. The worse thing happens when the uninformed public will believe the concocted stories and share them without even verifying its authenticity. The worst thing happens when someone pointed out the truth and debunked the false information, and yet people will still believe the false one. The unimaginable happens when those ignorant people starts to attack the one who pointed out the truth.
5. Facebook became a political arena where everyone became an expert analyst and historian. There's nothing wrong with a debate as long as it is based on verified facts and there is an intelligent discourse. Also, mutual respect is given by both parties regardless of the outcome of the debate. But the opposite happens on Facebook. Much worse is that all kinds of fallacies and faulty arguments are being used. You really can't win because no one is listening to the argument of the other side.

Those reasons mentioned above are based on my personal observations. It might be different in your case. You can point out or share yours in the comments. I also give you the liberty to refute my claims; as you might have a different perspective. I would love to read all of them.

With all things said and done, I can now say that Steemit is my new Facebook.

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Keep on steeming everyone!

Best Regards,
@ybanezkim26