This post was written for YOU - the internet surfer, blogger, link-sharer, artist, educator, designer, community leader, entrepreneur, curator, or the simply crypto-curious.
As appearances go, Steemit.com looks and acts a lot like the websites Reddit.com and Medium.com. We’ve got a “trending” front-page where you can see a wide range of popular daily content... there are individual profiles, post feeds, followers and so on. But there’s one big difference that allows Steemit to stand above any other social media network today. Here, you are rewarded for sharing content and we cannot emphasize that enough. Likes (called “upvotes”) = have actual value. Every single day - you are rewarded for creating content, discovering, curating and commenting.
Engagement is rewarded. If you like a post, simply click the “upvote” ^ button to give it your support. It’s the same as a “like” on Facebook, except your click = a digital currency.
Voting on the posts of others doesn’t take any currency away from you. In fact, you’ll be rewarded with more tokens if you upvote popular content. It's free, and fun to play this social-media-style game.
Steemit.com is powered by the same technology behind Bitcoin. There’s a local currency used here called “Steem” which (like Bitcoin) is digital money.
Both Bitcoin and Steem are organized through a data-sharing technology called “blockchain”. You might have heard that word used before in the news with respect to big companies like Microsoft, Blackrock or IBM. For these guys, blockchain is exciting because it allows for super fast, decentralized, secure and even smart sharing of data. Moving information from A to B via blockchain can happen in just seconds, as opposed to in hours or even days. When you move currency through the Steem blockchain a transaction takes just a couple of seconds. [ Mic drop. ]
So blockchain tech isn't just disruptive for the social media landscape, it could reinvent the way data is shared, secured and distributed globally. We could be on the verge of an entirely new world wide web built properly and more efficiently for the 21st century!
The Steem blockchain generates a new "pool" of currency every day. When you publish content on Steemit, you receive upvotes. Votes direct a percentage of that rewards pool to your account. The whole process is very similar to how Bitcoin operates, where miners receive Bitcoin as a reward for their work (processing transactions). With Steem, instead of rewarding miners, the blockchain rewards bloggers!
Think of Steemit as a blogging platform that rewards you with Pokémon cards. Those cards are worth what people are willing to trade for them (very similarly to a share of stock). As you collect more Pokémon cards, you wield more influence when playing the game. Similarly, every Steem token you collect increases your influence in the Steemit ecosystem. New cards get printed everyday (the daily rewards “pool”) and are distributed to the bloggers and content creators who post the most upvoted content.
Just as you can trade Pokémon cards online, you can do the same with cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Steem are traded on a digital currency exchanges. (Also just like shares of stock.) There are thousands of tokens out there that are available to buy and trade. Just like a share of stock or a Pokemon card; the actual USD dollar value is supported by demand for the asset and frequency of exchange for other assets.
What defines how much 1 Steem token is worth? Well, Steem is tied to a social media platform platform where content and engagement influence value. Steem’s value movement is tied directly to the happenings and content shared on Steemit.com. Value can go up or down based on a change to the blockchain, a mention in the news, a new Steem-powered project or exciting feature. Think of token value like stock value. If you're a shareholder of Facebook, the value of your stock fluctuates when the company announces a surprise boost of new users joining the platform or a new feature. Ultimately, the value ties back to the engagement and frequency of material created on the platform.
You publish so much stuff on the web everyday, why aren't you getting paid for all that hard work and time spent? Social media companies make a lot of money off of your effort and what do they give you in return? The value-factor of Steemit makes for an entirely new (but seemingly obvious) online environment. Having something at stake creates a very different social-media experience. The community here empowers good content while spammy posts fall into the background. Steemians take a lot of pride in their community and in the support of good authors and content creators!
When the platform was just a couple months old there was a welcome banner that heralded Steemit as “the internet’s first small town.” That has always stuck with us. Why? Users here (referred to as “Steemians”) really do treat Steemit like a small town. You’ll find that we are extremely supportive and constructive. There’s no incentive for nasty comments, so we have very few of them. Steemians just want this social platform to be a success! It’s a brand new social experiment, a totally new economy and a new way to engage and empower one another!
You can connect with people. Not just high-school friends, neighbors or work colleagues. Steemit helps you find people with like-minded interests and ideas and encourages you to engage with them. Comments receive rewards, so people truly take the time needed to compose thoughtful responses and feedback. You don't see that extra effort anywhere else on the web. Steemit might just be the first true social media platform.
This is the central reason why we are writing this to you, today. We want YOU to be a part of this. We need your own unique perspective of the world, your talent, passion and engagement to help build a stronger future for Steemit.
Let’s build something together. We hope that you will consider becoming a member of this community! It’s entirely free to join, in fact, Steemit will even give you a few tokens to get started. We look forward to hearing from you. Welcome!
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Create a post and tell us a little bit about you.
Follow a few people. Read a handful of posts. Comment and engage!
See where it takes you...
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This article was re-written and re-illustrated with the help of feedback from the original 
