AKASHA is a social media platform, currently in alpha, that rewards users for posting. The initial premise is similar to Steemit but it has a few key differences:
To quote the devs: "You can publish, share and vote for entries, similar to Medium and other modern publishing platforms, with the difference that your content is actually published over a decentralized network rather than on our servers. Moreover, the votes are bundled with micro transactions so if your content is good you’ll generate value – in a way, mining with your mind."
This is not that different to Steemit, however having the platform run on a decentralised application means that you get an extra layer of protection. While the Steem currency is decentralised, Steemit is not! Meaning that if the Steemit company were to go bust and the website went down, the platform would be over. This is not the case with AKASHA.
(Just to be clear, I love Steemit! I am not becoming a turncoat, so to speak)
The public alpha of AKASHA is available for all to try out by downloading the application from their website here. Currently it is running on a private Ethereum testnet but in Q3/Q4 2017 the devs want to roll out the main Ethereum network launch. The Alpha is far from complete, and can be a bit laggy and some features are not active yet, however I think getting in early is a great idea. There hasn't been a token sale and from what the devs are saying there might not even be one, as expressed on their website:
I like the concept behind AKASHA, maybe not as much as Steemit, but I believe in diversifying assets and having two platforms to post on is no bad thing! Like I have already mentioned, AKASHA is in Alpha, lets have a look at the dev timeline:
As you can see, the concept started in the first quarter of 2015 and a lot of work has already been carried out! That said, the platform clearly has a long way to go and the experience does feel slightly clunky. The Installation was very easy on my Linux machine, there was no need to compile or launch any .sh files, it is as simple as installing the .deb file and the rest is done for you. I am sure installation is also easy on Windows and Mac but I haven't tried because my work computer is a Linux, I only use windows for my gaming and I am too good at maths to buy a mac. ( just teasing ;) )
As you can see, you have three tabs at the top for sorting posts, the first allows you to see all new posts, the second is your bookmarked posts and the third allows you to sort through posts by category. The tabs on the left (from top to bottom) are Publish posts, search (non functioning), Stream, coming soon, coming soon, people and chat. Even though a lot of the functions are not currently implemented, the layout is nice and functional. Let's look at my profile page:
I really like this clean layout, on the right we have three tabs, our posts, our followers and our following. On the left we have our basic account information.
There are several functions that are not currently functioning, including the wallet and setting menues. Since the currency is not fully released yet there is no way to buy, sell or move your AETH tokens from or to the platform. But the voting and tipping functions appear to be working correctly. When you start an account, you have 4.8 AETH. I will show you what it looks like when you upvote somebody:
From what I gather, you can vote from a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10 points. I don't know if this changes with balance size or not but there is no way to check right now because you can't buy more.
I really like the concept and the layout is a great start, but there is a lot of work still to do and the main issue right now with the platform is a lack of users. I believe the platform will do well and I think it will serve well as a social media platform. This is not a steemit killer guys but to my mind they almost serve a different function. To me Steemit is more of a blogging platform, at least at the moment, while AKASHA is a social media platform, or at least it will be when there are people to socialise with. I recommend downloading it and giving it a go, it doesn't cost you anything and getting in there early could be a massive opportunity. Don't forget to follow me on there if you do check it out! Like on Steemit, my AKASHA ID is 
Happy Trading
Cryptoviking
