The social media wave came with a bang and swept many off their feet, defying boundaries and weaving global webs of connections. Platforms like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook among others boast millions of users and continue to grow by the day thanks to the ever increasing internet access most especially in developing countries and their ever improving features making it possible for them to rake billions of dollars while gathering staggering amounts of data mostly from hobbyists usually exchanging casual messages though others hold accounts strictly for business purposes. In the thick of the Social media explosion emerged cryptocurrency whose drastic rise and fall defies normal economics let alone the disruptive underlying technology, Blockchain that is threatening to redefine many aspects of life. Hundreds of cryptocurrencies are in circulation today with each designed to address a certain need or concern with many playing similar roles. Steem combines the best of both worlds, merging concepts from social media and cryptocurrency to deliver an incentivized blockchain-based, public content platform. In as much as social media platforms exceeded expectations in executing their primary role, facilitating interaction, Steem’s transparent system of incentivization for content creation threatens to redefine the social platform playing field. This and a whole lot of other exciting features are some of the indicators that Steem means business and is here for the long haul.
The world today faces many security threats, is a common excuse fronted by centralized institutions of authority to censor communication deciding what messages are appropriate while nibbling away at people’s privacy. As a core principle of the platform, Steem preserves and encourages free speech a cornerstone for societal development in a bid to build a free society. Great ideas are endangered when authorities confine speech and mistakes are reinforced as a mechanism for constructive criticism is not in place. Steem being a decentralized public platform would be very difficult to crackdown and compromise thereby positioning itself as a safe haven for free speech, a desire for many.
The Steemit platform constitutes the infrastructure to facilitate a free market economy, a system by which each and every contribution made is openly recognized and rewarded accordingly through a collective process of upvoting posts (a show of appreciation of the post and approval of reward) and curation. With such a clear accounting system, productivity is greatly boosted since recognition of effort however small it may be means a lot and fuels content creation yet still as a sure way of earning more, one would only have to create content that meets the demands of the market in this case content that is more appreciated by the Steem community thereby ensuring that the readers or the consumers are given a run for their time consequently making the Steem platform a hub for top quality information that many people would love to be.
Splitting in half the rewards and designating one half as Steem power (SP) held for a period of 13 weeks (vesting) ensures that the platform’s investment is intact and keeps growing to facilitate its expansion before giving the user a chance to power down that is if they choose to and if not still retain it. The vesting fund is always guaranteed a significant sum owing to the fact that a participant’s voting power is derived from Steem power (SP) an access token that everyone in the community ought to have for complete and satisfactory use of the platform.
The steemit platform equally values the contribution be it money or content generated or time invested to curate content for others which fuels contribution in many a different way possible meaning that everyone can enjoy the flexibility of contributing and being a part of Steem in a way they deem convenient.
Steem’s design tending towards self-containment enables it to grow a genuine and enduring community as the products or contents are produced for and rewarded by the community. An interaction of community members addressing each other’s’ needs through cost free transactions keep the platform going steady even without an influx of new users. An added advantage of elimination of transaction fees enables many people to get started let alone enable the platform retain the current users. It’s a common tendency for people to get drawn to things that don’t bother them with parting with their money however little it may be, the exclusion of transaction fees still makes for smooth transactions giving Steem an edge over many cryptocurrencies in the market.
Through a reliable reward system, many users have earned handsomely from the platform thereby reinforcing many people’s faith in the system and attracting many others to Steem greatly contributing to the expansion of the platform.
I would however not recommend any Steemian to approach it from the earning point of view. Earning is only a consequence of providing quality content to the market, the users only have to invest time, energy and mental resources into providing the very best content they can.
In a world epitomized by censored speech, manipulated markets whose assessment of value is far from clear, biting transaction fees; Steem stands out as a possible exit for which free speech is not only permitted but encouraged, reward for productivity clearly defined while still maintaining the benefits of a social media platform. A system that mimics fairness in many facets of life would be hard to do away with.
