The first person I recommended to join steemit was a friend of mine who is writing a travel blog. She was the first person I thought of when I explored the website and realised the potential for this community networking economic ecosystem.

I didn’t think much about pitching the idea to her, I just threw her the link and told her people here are getting paid for their content with no advertising.

Although she showed an interest her response was along the lines of

“I’m skeptical about anything that pays” for my writing

You have to admit it’s a funny world we live in when writers have become skeptical of the idea of being paid to write.

I didn’t bother explaining why I’m enthusiastic about steemit because I knew I would first have to explain cryptocurrency and I consider myself still unqualified for that even though I’ve been holding Bitcoin for the past year and a half.

The developers of steemit said in a recent interview that they are introducing the world of cryptocurrency to ordinary people by putting a blogging platform on the blockchain.

Which is very exciting for crypto-heads!

But how easy has it really been for non-techy people to climb aboard?

I asked some Facebook friends how they got on signing up.

Can you spot the techy among these?

I believe there is a simple solution to this problem and it’s not to just forget the Minnows that can breathe under water.

My brother @demotruk whote a post on this recently.

Passwords are a problem. Keys are the solution!!

My brother told me about this extra secure log in method he has for Google. When he tries to log into Google from a different computer, he is asked to insert his USB key and then put in his password. So even if somehow somebody figured out his password, they cannot log into his account from their computer without his USB key.

Steemits log in system is difficult for security reasons. If your account is hacked whatever $teem Dollars you have can be stolen.

• The first rule of Steemit is: Do not lose your password.
• The second rule of Steemit is: Do not lose your password.
• The third rule of Steemit is: We cannot recover your password.
• The fourth rule: If you can remember the password, it's not secure.
• The fifth rule: Use only randomly-generated passwords.
• The sixth rule: Do not tell anyone your password.
• The seventh rule: Always back up your password.

Everybody understands keys! Even me!!

Imagine if instead of logging in with a lengthy password that must include capitals, numbers and symbols, you could simply stick your key in the USB slot, touch a button on your key and enter a simple password. This makes sense to me on so many levels! In fact if it were available I would be getting one immediately for my Online Banking and email accounts.

In their interview with @dollarvigilante, the developers Ned and Dan also mentioned other platforms for $teem in the future similar perhaps to Twitter and I can think of lots of commerce and crowd funding platforms that would attract more people to use steem. But before we can expect the ordinary individual to climb aboard I think the compatibility between extra security vs user friendliness needs to be established.

I welcome your thoughts and contributions!

and don't forget to click Follow :)